


Against the Wind

by MinRileyElain



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Angst, Blood and Violence, Curses, Demons, Drama, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Halflings, Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler References, Minor Character Death, Mystery, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:55:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 41,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21753349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MinRileyElain/pseuds/MinRileyElain
Summary: Alexis Carmichael and a group of friends are touring London when the locals tell them of a haunted manor just beyond city limits. In curiosity, they find themselves outside of the Phantomhive Estate, unaware of the dangers lying inside. Adult Ciel Phantomhive/OC.Cross posted on Fanfiction.net.
Relationships: Ciel Phantomhive/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 28





	1. Dead on Arrival

********

“I dare you to go in.”

I peered silently at the old Phantomhive Manor, registering its already crumbling walls and thick brush of ivy covering the remaining stone. The windows were broken and littered with all sorts of graffiti, ranging from names and hearts to what people assumed to be clever warnings. ‘Beware’ and ‘Do not enter’ were among the poorly chosen phrases to keep the rumors of haunting alive, so to speak. It looked ominous against the harsh rain coming down around the grounds.

The Phantomhive Manor was once a grand home to the last living descendant of the Phantomhive line. Young Ciel Phantomhive had mysteriously gone missing just after his 13th birthday, leaving behind the mansion, its servants, and a devastated fiancé in his wake. It was said that an enemy of the Earl had come into the Manor and slit his throat, dumping his body somewhere on the grounds. To this day, rumors spread like wildfire of people who had entered the Manor only to emerge bloody and claiming to have been attacked by the spirit of the avenging Earl.

I didn’t believe it for a second. You had to be a complete idiot to buy into the rumors and the horror stories. The Earl simply went missing; there was no report of his death inside the Manor, and trust me, I did my research. Back then, you couldn’t hide a bloody scene if your life depended on it. If Ciel had been murdered in his sleep or anywhere else in his home, it definitely would have made headlines.

“Are you wussing out?”

Turning my head to my companions, I shrugged. “I’ll go in, I don’t have a problem with it,” I told Jake, pulling my hood over my hair to climb out of the car. “Hand me a flashlight.”

“I can’t believe you’re actually going to do this.” Becky turned from her perch in the passenger seat. I rolled my eyes, accepting the flashlight from Corey. The three of them had bought into the stories they read online and heard from the locals, but I couldn’t. Becky had the gall to legitimately look terrified at the aspect of me venturing into the manor alone. “Jake, don’t make her do this.”

I almost had to scoff. “Beck, the place isn’t haunted. There’s no such thing as ghosts,” I responded before Jake could answer. I zipped up my hoodie, shoving the flashlight into my pocket. “I’ll be back before you know it, alright?”

“Go with her, Corey,” Jake said as I was about to get out of the car.

“What? No way!”

“Oh for the love of God,” I muttered under my breath. I hauled open my door, getting out into the pouring rain with shouting protests from Becky behind me. “Look, if one of you is coming with me, do it now.”

“Fucking seriously,” Corey finally said, climbing out of the car to stand beside me. He popped his head back into the car. “If we’re not back in twenty minutes, you come looking for us, deal?”

“You’re being ridiculous,” I told him, heading towards the rotting door of the manor. When he got a confirmation from the two in the car, he slammed the door and followed me. I was thankful I’d chosen to wear boots to this shindig. The mud was getting worse with the rain and my feet were sinking slowly with each step. I turned the flashlight on and shined it at the building, illuminating the numerous writings on the half boarded entrance.

Corey mumbled a couple curse words under his breath as I slid underneath the boards. A smell of mothballs, mold, and other disastrous scents bombarded my nostrils and I gagged. “Holy hell, what the shit is that,” Corey asked. I covered my mouth with my sleeve, his actions mirroring my own.

“It’s an old building, what do you expect,” I retorted behind my makeshift mask. “Let’s get this over with.”

Inside was pitch black, save for the flashlight. The only sound in the building that I could make out was the intense rain falling on the broken down roof above us, splattering against the floor through the cracks in the ceiling. I flashed the light in front of me. The room we were in had once been what I assumed was the great hall. It was a vast room, and when I shone the light a little further up, I found myself looking at a pair of staircases on either side of crooked and fragmented double doors leading into another room.

“Up or straight?”

Corey gripped onto the back of my hoodie before I could take another step. “Alex, I think we should go,” he whispered shakily, but I ignored him, grabbing at his hand. He was trembling. Whether it was from the cold or from fear, I wasn’t entirely sure. Maybe a hint of both. “I don’t think we should be here.”

“Up it is.”

I pulled Corey along behind me, making sure to watch my step. All around our feet were shattered beer bottles, a few discarded needles, and other trash that people had left behind. Such disrespect to a piece of history. Surprisingly, the stairs hadn’t acquired much damage, probably due to the mere fact that they were made of marble. There were a few chips here and there, and graffiti on practically every step, but other than that, safe to walk on.

A sudden clash from the second floor made us pause. Corey’s grip on my hand tightened. “Alex, I’m serious, we need to go,” he whispered frantically against my ear. I elbowed him back.

“I’m sure it was just a raccoon,” I whispered, but even I wasn’t confident about my reasoning. The sound had been loud, like something large had fallen against the stone floor. Raccoons can get into a lot of mischief, but I wasn’t sure they could have caused something that forceful. “Come on.”

“No, I’ll wait down here,” Corey replied quickly, and I turned the flashlight on him. His green eyes were wide with fear, pinned directly to the doors ahead of us on the second floor. “I’d rather stay down here and wait for you.”

His logic didn’t make sense. “Corey, you realize we have one flashlight, and if I leave you down here that means you’ll be in the dark by yourself.” His eyes darted down to my face. “You really want to be alone in here?”

When he didn’t answer, I knew he’d changed his mind at my words. That’s what I thought. Without another word, I began my ascent up the stairs once more, my footsteps softer than before. If my animal theory didn’t pan out, that meant something, or someone, was here and I was not about to get murdered over a stupid dare with a pussy trailing behind me.

The second floor didn’t look as bad as the first, though the physical damage was worse due to weather conditions. The wooden panels and furniture had been chewed through probably by termites and the mold was extensive probably from the rainy season London seemed to be stuck in at this time of year. I moved the flashlight along the floor, mapping out my footsteps carefully until I reached the doors I wanted.

“There’s something written on the door,” Corey hissed. I lifted the light onto the door and read the wording aloud in a hushed voice.

“Beware all who enter for evil lies behind these doors”. Whoever wrote this desperately needed a life. I sighed, shaking my head as I reached to push the door open, but Corey grabbed my wrist. Corey was frozen in place, staring at the wording. “Corey, if we don’t get a move on, we’re not going to get out of here any faster.”

“Al, that’s written in blood.”

I cocked a brow at him before turning back to the door, shining the light against the harsh red words again. What I’d thought was shitty graffiti was indeed too much like stained blood, and when I looked closer, I could see the finger smears that had written the words. My heart jumped to my throat, and finally, anxiety began to creep into my veins.

“It’s just paint,” I lied, but even I knew the difference between paint and blood. That was certainly not paint, spray or otherwise. I sidestepped to the other door, pressing it open slowly to reveal a hallway strangely illuminated in dark blue. It was lighter than downstairs, but I figured it was from the lack of roof covering part of the building. Corey clung to my hand as I continued into the hallway, moving the light slowly up and down the walls.

Old paintings of the Phantomhive family had been torn from the walls, now a forgotten memory lying on the floor. Parts of the paintings were ripped, some even missing the heads, others covered in different colored spray paint. Guilt spread through me for being one of the miscreants walking the halls, but at least I didn’t have a paint can in my hand to destroy any more of the history.

The furniture in the hall had been pushed over and smashed into little shards of wood, silver platters and shattered china strewn about the floor. I stepped over a silver pan, inching my way closer to the doors on either sides of the hallway. There had to be about 16 doors in total reaching all the way down to the other side of the manor. I had to admit, the Phantomhives really knew how to live, no matter how long they did, or didn’t.

Another, now louder, crash came from a few doors down and I froze, my heart racing uncomfortably. That didn’t sound like a raccoon. I immediately turned the flashlight off, a death grip on Corey’s hand. We stood frozen for what seemed like hours, waiting for something, anything, to emerge from the doorway.

“I knew this was a bad idea,” I heard Corey mutter under his breath. I shushed him, listening for any further movement. When nothing came, I began walking towards the door, pulling my hand free from his. “Alex, what are you doing?!”

“I’m going to check it out.”

“Alex, no.” I turned to look at him in the dim natural light. Honestly, I didn’t know what I was thinking, wanting to head towards the noise instead of away from it, but I needed to know. Surely the rumors of the place being haunted were just that; rumors from the townspeople. “What if that’s an ax murderer or some shit? Or maybe a vengeful spirit. You saw the blood on the door and the warning. Evil lies behind these doors. That’s evil in there.”

“You can’t possibly believe that,” I whispered, although I was beginning to believe it myself. It was ridiculous to buy into the crap locals warned us about, but the crashing in the room was too much of a coincidence. It had to be explained. “I’m going in whether you like it or not. Stay here if it makes you feel better.”

Corey stared down at me then gave a curt nod. 

“But if you start screaming and running out of that room, I won’t forgive you,” he warned, though I knew that wouldn’t happen. Watching my every step, I carefully maneuvered around the articles on the floor, the light mere inches from my feet. If there was something in that room, I surely didn’t want whatever, or whoever, it was to know of my presence before I knew of theirs.

When I reached the door, I looked down the hall to where Corey had been standing. Oddly, the light that had been there before was now gone, and the hall was pitch black like the floor below. I squared my shoulders as I slowly began to push the door open.

The room was in complete disarray, worse than any other part of the Manor I’d seen so far. Old parchment paper was thrown across the room, dark stains covered every inch of what I assumed had once been known as a very expensive rug. A four poster queen sized bed sat against the left wall, with two and a half pillars missing from corners. The sheets that covered it were stained and ripped apart, leaving whatever was left of the mattress to rot with bugs.

I looked around the room to see a fireplace dug into the wall, now with bottles and trash thrown into it instead of log and newspaper. The smell in the room left a horrid after taste in my mouth, almost causing me to gag from behind my sleeve. I flitted my eyes about, searching for the thing that had made the crashing sound only minutes before. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary.

The ceiling was high, and the windows that I stood in front of stretched from my waist all the way up the wall. Somehow, one had stayed mostly intact, with only a crack or two at the top. I could honestly say I was shocked someone hadn’t broken the window yet, but obviously there was still time for that. When I was satisfied with my assessment of the windows, I moved my light back to the fireplace, coming face to face with a painting I hadn’t noticed before. Moving swiftly, I stepped over to the fireplace to see an untouched painting of what I assumed to be the missing Earl Ciel Phantomhive himself. A boy of great confidence sat in a chair directly in front of this same fireplace. He was dressed in a rather ridiculous looking two piece blue suit with a black ribbon tied around his neck. A cane was wielded in his right hand, but that wasn’t the accessory that intrigued me the most.

His eyes, or rather, his eye was a piercing blue, wide with a look of coyness, superiority, and malice. Covering his right eye was a black patch tied around his head. In the writings I’d found on him, it never said anything about him having lost an eye at any point, but you couldn’t always trust the things you read on the internet, obviously.

Behind the Earl stood a man dressed smarter than a butler, yet not quite a noble. It was odd because in all of the historic paintings of royal blood, never was there a servant painted in with the royal status. This butler didn’t look like the usual butler a household might have, however. He looked younger, maybe in his 20s, with sharp features, pale as his master, black hair falling into his face like he hadn’t a care in the world where it landed. Piercing, almost haunting red eyes seemed to glow right out of the painting, staring at anyone who crossed his path. It was as if they followed wherever you went in the room, glaring directly into your soul. I cleared my now dry throat, my eyes trailing over the man’s face. A smirk had been painted on his lips, sly and mischievous for all eternity. It was like he had a little secret that no one would ever know.

As I stared at the whole of the painting, I noticed the way the butler had his hand on the Phantomhive’s shoulder. Unless a servant was dressing a royal, they weren’t allowed to touch their master in any way, shape, or form. But this, this was a completely different kind of hold he had on the young master’s shoulder. It was neither aloof nor intimate, but possessive, like he _owned_ the 12 year old rather than being owned himself.

A small shuffle behind me lit a fire under my ass and I turned swiftly, my heart nearly jumping out of my chest. I paused, turning the flashlight off in a fit of fear. My entire body began to shake and it took all I had not to run from the noise. Swallowing hard, I looked about in the darkness, trying to find the source of the shuffle. I took a short step, only to hear the sound again, this time by the bed.

Oh Jesus Lord, please don’t let me die, I prayed, inching towards the side of the bed near the windows. My heart thumped wildly against my ribcage, drops of sweat forming on my forehead under my bangs. I raised the flashlight in defense, nearing the side of the bed slowly. “Wh-whoever you are, show yourself,” I said in a shaky, and rather pathetic, voice. I swallowed the lump in my throat, my ears ringing with the sound of another shuffle. Why did I have to be so stupid and get myself into this?

Another step and I’d be face to face with whatever was making the sound. I had half a mind to run, to never look back, but I couldn’t live with the regret of not knowing. With a deep breath, I took that last step and gasped, the flashlight falling from my grip. Instead of an animal or some evil spirit, I found myself staring at a body, hidden beneath a ripped sheet. The rise and fall of the sheet told me the person was alive, but what I couldn’t tell was if they were sleeping or not.

“H-hello.” I inched closer to the body, grabbing the flashlight as I went. I received no reply, but a movement caught my eye. It was obvious the body was that of a man, slight in build, but tall in height. Porcelain skin poked out from underneath the sheet, covered in lacerations and dirt. The man’s head began to peek out from the sheet, his hair dark and matted and his forehead covered in blood. “Oh my God.”

Without thinking, I crouched next to the man, pulling the sheet from his torso quickly. Blood fell across his face and chest, dripping from his nose and his mouth. His breathing was labored, like he’d been severely beaten, and by the looks of it, that’s exactly what happened. I flicked the flashlight on and maneuvered it next to us, shining the light on the man. He’d attempted a makeshift wrap around his head with part of the sheet, but had failed pretty miserably. His right eye was covered, blood drenching the fabric resting over it.

“Corey!” I shouted, my hands frantically moving over the man’s body. “Corey! Help me!”

I heard footsteps rushing down the hallway towards the room. “Alex! What’s wrong,” Corey asked, keeping his voice down. I looked up with wide eyes from my perch next to the man. Corey stopped. “Oh shit, Al, what the hell happened?”

“I don’t know what happened, man, just help me, he’s hurt,” I told him, moving to wrap my arm around the man’s torso. His skin was like ice, it almost burned to touch, but I ignored it. The man needed medical attention and badly. Corey moved to get on the other side of him, his face full of confusion.

“We don’t know if anything is broken,” he commented, but at that point, I didn’t care. I pulled the rest of the sheet off his body, noting that he had a pair of torn brown dress shorts covering his legs. Thank God. What I could see of his chest, stomach, and legs were coated in bruises and cuts. Whatever happened to him was just short of torture.

“He needs a hospital, Corey, we need to get him out of here and to the car.”

Corey paused, but when he realized I was about to lift the man from his position, he put his arm underneath the man’s back and together, we began to lift him from the floor. A soft pained groan escaped the man’s cracked and bleeding lips. I pulled my hoodie off quickly, sliding it over the man’s shoulders. “Hold him,” I ordered, and when Corey maneuvered the man to lean against him, I bent down to grab the flashlight. “Alright, let’s go.”

We moved hastily through the hallway towards the stairwell, where we had to somewhat carry the man the rest of the way. The chill of the manor left my skin tingling as we left it behind us, almost running towards the car. Corey hauled the man against his side as I ran ahead, tapping on the window desperately when I finally made it.

Becky rolled the window down. “Jesus you guys took forever, what-“

“Alex, who the fuck is that,” Jake called from the other side of the car.

“I have no time to explain that right now, Jake, just unlock the fucking car,” I spat, and when I heard the click of the locks, I opened the back door, ushering Corey to slide the man into it. I went to the other side, gripping onto the man’s shoulders to help him in.

“Oh my God, what happened to him,” Becky asked in a frantic tone as I quickly slid under the man’s head, resting it onto my lap. “He’s bleeding everywhere!”

“Goddamn it, you guys, what the fuck did you do in there,” Jake yelled, but I shoved at his shoulder, closing the door as Corey closed his.

“Just get to a fucking hospital, you asshole!”

Jake groaned loudly, kicking the car into gear and sped off, leaving the manor behind. I looked down at the man now lying across my lap. He couldn’t have been much older than me, maybe 25 or 26. It was hard to tell under all the blood on his face. I swept his black hair from his wounds, causing his cheekbone to twitch slightly.

Whatever happened to him, someone didn’t think he’d be found, or at least found alive.

***


	2. Hollow Bodies.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alexis finds herself trying to reason with Ciel, while fighting with the possibility that he is in fact the missing Earl from so long ago.

***

“Can you explain now?”

I leaned my head against the white wall of the hospital waiting room. The man had been checked in under a fake name, since there wasn’t a wallet or phone that I could find in his oddly shaped pockets, and was now being fussed over by a hoard of nurses. I’d successfully convinced the receptionist that the man was my fiancé, and we’d forgotten his wallet at home with his insurance cards and ID. How they bought it so quickly, I will never know.

“I told you. I found him under a sheet in one of the bedrooms,” I explained for the third time, but Jake looked unimpressed with my answer. “Jake, I don’t know what else you want me to say. He’s obviously hurt pretty badly, I didn’t see anyone else in the manor, and if we hadn’t brought him here, he’d probably be dead by now.”

“And that’s our problem because…”

“Oh Jake, stop,” Becky said, slapping at his chest gently. She rested her hand on mine and smiled slightly. “I think it’s a good thing you brought him to the car, Ally, he can get help now.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled, looking at my lap. My clothing was going to have to be tossed out, since it was covered in the man’s blood and whatever else he’d had all over him. When I looked up, Corey was entering the room carrying coffees in his hands. I accepted mine gratefully, taking a sip of the hot beverage. Ah, heaven.

Corey plopped down next to me, looking like he could pass out right where he sat. I felt bad. None of them had to be here for someone they didn’t know. Technically I didn’t either, but I felt an obligation. I’m the one who found him, I’m the one who makes sure he’ll be okay. In fact now that I looked at each of them, they all looked as if they’d pass out right where they were.

I sat up a little bit. “You guys go on ahead, I’ll stay here.”

“No, we’re staying here too,” Corey said, but even as he said it, his eyes drooped dangerously.

I had to smile at him. “Honey, you’re falling asleep, you all look exhausted,” I commented, looking directly at Becky. “Please, you guys get to the hotel. I want to make sure he’s okay before I head back. I’ll call a cab.”

“Are you sure, Alex? He could be some sort of criminal,” Jake said, but I shook my head.

“I’m at a hospital with security and a bunch of people around to protect me. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

After a few more protests, they finally gave in. I waved at them as they exited, Becky sending me a pointed look on her way out. Shrugging, I lifted my coffee in response, settling back into the uncomfortable chair and closing my eyes. Although the fear and anxiety had disappeared, the events of the night had shocked my body into a fit of the shakes. I couldn’t hold my coffee still, no matter how much I willed it to stop.

I didn’t know how long I stayed in that chair, but finally, the doctor caring for the man emerged from his room. When I saw him looking for me, I stood stiffly, my back screaming at me for sitting in that uncomfortable position for so long. He had one of those clipboards in his hands with ‘Logan’s’ reports on it. Thankfully his face didn’t show pity.

“Ms. Carmichael,” he greeted me, and I nodded. He pulled his glasses off and wiped at his brow before diving straight into the extent of the man’s injuries. “I’m afraid your fiancé has worrisome trauma to the majority of his body. From what I’ve found, there are two broken ribs, three cracked, he’s suffered a concussion, and multiple lacerations to his abdomen and legs. Unfortunately, due to the loss of blood he sustained, we were unable to keep him awake long enough to evaluate the concussion. You said he was jumped outside of a bar?”

“He was coming out of a pub and I guess a bunch of guys jumped him.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” the doctor said softly, his eyes trailing down to the board in his hands. “I have worse news to share with you.” When I didn’t reply, he continued. “Whoever did this to him had taken the time to sew and cauterize his right eyelid shut, which is where all that blood on his eye was coming from. There’s unfortunately nothing I can do without possibly damaging whatever is behind the closed lid. With your permission, however, I could-“

“No, no, that’s okay, I don’t want to harm him any further,” I said, a pang of guilt stabbing into my heart. I couldn’t take the chance of them doing more damage.

“You’re welcome to see him if you’d like. I’m sure you’re worried sick.”

Not quite, but close enough. “Thank you,” I told him, watching him walk away to the next family. I took a deep breath, walking over to the room the man had been wheeled into. When I peered inside, a nurse was at the side of his bed, setting up a drip IV. The man’s face and body had been cleaned of all the crust and blood, bandages replacing the mess. A big white patch was now over his eye. He skin looked sickly pale under the bright hospital lights.

“It’s quite alright for you to be here, dear,” the nurse said. She smiled politely at me. “He won’t be awake for another few hours, I’m sure. But it’s common knowledge that they can hear you, even in a coma.”

“Um, thanks,” I muttered, closing the door behind me. I stepped over to the bed and took another look at the man. Without all the caked on blood and dirt, I realized how stunning he really was. The lights, albeit harsh, showed off his beautiful porcelain skin, his high cheekbones under long black eyelashes. His black hair had been swept back from his forehead in the process of his examination, but it was long enough to cover his ears and hang in his eyes when styled properly. His lips were heart shaped and appeared soft, despite being so chapped.

“I know it’s not my place, ma’am, but your fiancé…he’s a very good looking young man,” the nurse commented, and I nodded, having to agree with her. He was as beautiful as a man could get, even with all the bandages covering him. “He’s lucky nothing else was harmed.”

I thanked her quietly and sat in the chair next to his bed, waiting for her to be done with the IV line. When she was finished, she wished me luck with him and exited. I leaned forward to look him over once more. He had arms lined with muscles, nothing too major, but enough to make women swoon. Why had he been in the Manor in the first place? There were no track marks anywhere on his arms that I could see, no bruising to his neck where his carotid artery was, which meant the needles he’d been surrounded with were not his.

He was a mystery.

After two hours of sitting by his side with no changes, I figured it was time to get myself out of the clothes I’d found him in. I grabbed my phone from my back pocket only to find it dead. Sighing, I got up from my chair and went towards the receptionist desk to ask for the number of a cab service. The receptionist smiled and made the phone call herself, commenting on the lack of sleep I’d gone through so far.

Ten minutes later, the cab arrived, equipped with a heater full blast and a mute driver. Good, just what I needed. After giving him the address to the hotel, I relaxed into the seat and stared outside. The light of a new day had come without my realizing. I was at the hospital longer than I thought. The rain was lighter than the night before, coming down in a drizzle rather than a downpour.

Becky was in the room when I opened the door, dressed her sweats and favorite UW sweatshirt. “Oh my God, Alex,” she cried as I closed the door behind me. I felt like death, but I wasn’t about to fall asleep just yet. “Have you slept at all?”

“No, I’ve been sitting in his room since you guys left.”

I pulled off the disgusting clothes and tossed them into the trash. There was no need for those anymore. “Have you talked to him?”

With a soft chuckle, I began sifting through my suitcase, pulling out a pair of skinny jeans and a long sleeve shirt. “Funny you should ask that,” I muttered, grabbing a fresh pair of underwear and bra from the smaller suitcase. “He has a concussion and put himself into a coma, so he’s been a vegetable all night.”

“That poor thing,” she whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed we shared for the trip. “The guys have been worried about you. They don’t want you being at the hospital alone with a stranger. But I told them you were okay with all the staff around. It took me a while to calm them down about it.”

“Thanks for that,” I told her, running my fingers through my greasy hair. I cringed, the feeling of my hair that greasy making me want to throw up. Placing my phone on the charger, I turned to face Becky again. “I’m going to take a shower and head back. I told the cab driver I’d only be gone for twenty minutes.”

She nodded in a silent response and I disappeared into the bathroom. Closing the door, I let out a breathy sigh, thinking back on when I’d found him lying on that floor. How I hadn’t seen him when I was looking at the windows, it was beyond me. My eyes had gone over that bed so many times and he hadn’t shown himself until after I found the painting.

The hot water cascaded over my head, drenching me in blissful beads of warmth. I moaned gratefully and began to wash my hair, tossing away the night’s events for a few minutes. All I needed was a moment to catch my breath, and the shower was doing the trick. I washed and rewashed my body several times, ridding myself of the dirt and blood I’d acquired from my seeping clothes.

When I finished, I quickly got dressed and tossed a beanie over my wet auburn locks, heading back into the main room. Becky had gone, leaving behind a note telling me she’d see me at the hospital later. I packed my purse with the hotel key, my phone, my charger, and my wallet before heading out again, climbing into the back of the cab. “Thanks for waiting,” I told the driver, who merely nodded and set off towards the hospital, only 15 minutes from the hotel.

As I entered the lobby of the hospital, I smiled at the receptionist, who sent me a little wave in return. A sudden crash and a shout from down the hall caught my attention, and I realized too late that it was the man I’d brought in earlier.

“I demand an explanation at once!”

I gasped, watching as the man came careening out of the room, falling against the wall in a bruised and beaten heap. “Oh shit,” I cursed under my breath, hurrying down the hall as onlookers stopped to stare.

“What is this contraption? You there, take this from me immediately!” The man pointed at one of the nurses, only to cry out in pain. He fell to his knees, holding his chest as he continued to bark out orders. “You cannot keep me here! I demand to see your master!”

“What is he saying,” I heard one of the nurses ask another.

“I think he’s talking about seeing a doctor.”

I groaned, walking over to the man as he crouched against the wall, his face written in agony. “Please, you have to stop this,” I whispered to him, reaching out to grab his arm. He shoved me away pitifully, a sharp blue eye staring directly at me. I gasped audibly, staring into the gorgeous deep blue of his iris.

“How dare you touch me,” he growled. I huffed, looking around at the growing crowd of onlookers.

“You’re hurt,” I shot at him. “Now please, get back in that room and I will explain everything.”

He stared at me for a moment before giving me a curt nod. Slowly, I took his arm, helping him to his shaky feet. A nurse approached to help, but he waved her away, only to fall against me. “I must speak with Sebastian,” the man said under his breath.

“I have him,” I told the nurse politely, closing the door behind us as we entered the room again. He pushed himself from me, lying back down on the bed, sighing softly as the pain subsided from his face. “You gave quite the show out there. I hope you don’t plan on doing that again.”

I plopped down in the chair next to the bed, receiving a look that could kill. “Tell me your name,” he said, lifting his hand to touch his head. He paused, staring at the IV line attached to his skin. “What on earth is this? And where is that annoying beeping coming from?”

“You really don’t know what that is.”

“Your name.”

“Alexis Carmichael,” I told him, crossing my legs as he scrutinized me. His piercing blue eye did not move from my face, as though he was monitoring my every move. “Now, tell me your name.”

“I hardly think that necessary,” he replied, turning his face from me to look back at the IV line. “Answer my questions.”

“Not until I get your name.”

A heavy sigh followed by a groan of pain came from him. “Ciel Phantomhive,” he said proudly. I almost burst out laughing, but instead covered my mouth with my hand, trying to hide a smile. He couldn’t be serious. “Do you find my name amusing, girl? I could have your head for such a reaction.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

His eye found my face once more, and the way he looked at me told me he sincerely believed he wasn’t. “I don’t know your phrasing, but if you mean I have simply told a joke, no, I am not ‘kidding’,” he said in all seriousness. I blinked at him, shaking my head slowly. “What is that incessant beeping?”

“It’s your heart rate.”

‘Ciel’ paused, looking down at the line in his arm. “And this. What is this?”

“It’s an IV, it pumps you full of medicine,” I explained, sitting up to look at him. “You really have no clue what any of this is, do you?”

He sighed, once again groaning afterwards. “I hurt everywhere.”

“That would be because you’re hurt everywhere.”

Ciel did a once over of his body, taking in the bandages and sutures before pressing his head against the pillows behind him. I watched him quietly. Why did he honestly believe he was Ciel Phantomhive? He continued to assess his injuries, finally resting his hand over the patch on his eye.

“What happened to me?”

“You don’t remember?”

“I must speak with Sebastian immediately.”

I cocked a brow at him. “Um, who’s Sebastian?”

“My butler. He must be around here somewhere,” Ciel said mostly to himself. I sighed, rubbing my face slowly. “Who are you? Your attire would lead one to assume you are a prostitute.”

I looked down at my sweater and jeans, then looked at him as if he was crazy. Way to be, Al, saving a psycho. I could put that down on my resume. “I’m not a prostitute,” I said defensively, folding my arms over my chest. “And I happen to be the one who saved your life. If it hadn’t been for me, you probably would have died last night.”

“A girl saving me,” he scoffed rudely. “I don’t believe it.”

“Really, well, in that case, you can stay here, my lord,” I said sarcastically, getting out of my chair to leave. If he didn’t want my help, or me around, so be it. I wasn’t going to waste my time to explain his situation to him. He could sit in here and be a proud little shit all he wanted without me.

A hand gripped my elbow. “Where are you going,” he asked, his blue eye staring up at me.

“I am going to go to sleep because someone doesn’t want to appreciate the fact that he’s alive and well because of a woman,” I shot sourly at him, pulling my elbow from his grip. He had the decency to at least look somewhat ashamed of himself.

Ciel sat up a little straighter, giving a curt nod. “I apologize for my harsh words.”

I stopped, pursing my lips at him before slowly sitting in the chair again. “Apology accepted.”

His face remained stone cold. “How long must I stay in this horrid place? It smells of old people and antiseptic,” he said, his straight nose scrunching up in disgust.

“Well I’m sure you’ll have to see the doctor and get his opinion, otherwise you’re stuck here,” I told him, crossing my legs. “I don’t suggest throwing a fit like that before you see him though. It’ll raise suspicions.”

“Does no one know who I am?”

“I don’t even know who you are,” I said truthfully, causing his head to turn to me. “Ciel Phantomhive disappeared over a hundred years ago at the age of 12, now you show up claiming to be the long lost Phantomhive. If you can explain that to someone and NOT get called crazy, I’d be shocked.”

“Then why do you act as if I am who I say I am,” he asked quietly, his voice like ice. I sighed, pulling my beanie off my head to run my fingers through my still drying hair. “I know I am Ciel Phantomhive, I know I am not insane, and I know I do not belong in an asylum.”

I tossed my beanie on the stand next to his bed and rubbed my eyes. “Look, I can sit here and argue with you over your sanity for hours,” I started, my eyes beginning to burn. “But I am dying for sleep and I don’t know how much longer I can go without it. I’m going to get the doctor for you, and then I’m going back to my hotel and going to sleep. Is that quite alright with my lord?”

“I do wish you’d stop calling me that.”

“I’m sure you do,” I deadpanned, hoisting myself from my seat. “Just try to stick with the story I told them.”

“What on earth could you have said to whoever they are?”

“I told the hospital staff that you are my fiancé and you were jumped in an alley,” I told him, turning my head to look at his reaction. His jaw had dropped open, his eye wide in shock. It wasn’t as satisfying as I thought it would be. “Your name is Logan Bennett.”

“Why would you-“

“Because I didn’t know who you were and they needed a name and a reason I brought you in,” I explained.

“Will you stay with me when the doctor visits?” I gave him a questioning look, which he promptly answered with an explanation of his own. “If only to keep my story straight…about everything.”

“If I must,” I muttered, leaving the room quietly. I found myself staring at security and the nurse who’d attempted to help me bring Ciel back into the room. She didn’t look pleased, and I so didn’t want to deal with this mess. “I’m sorry about that. He doesn’t remember what happened last night.”

“Keep him at bay, miss,” the security said after confirming with the nurse.

“Um, is Dr. Nameed available? My fiancé would like to speak with him.” Without a word, the nurse gave me a dirty look then disappeared down the hallway. I was forever going to receive dirty looks around this man.

Coffee, I needed coffee. I grabbed my phone from my purse and dialed Becky’s number, walking slowly down the hallway towards the cafeteria. “Hey, is everything okay,” Becky asked on the second ring.

“I think we saved a nutter,” I admitted, shoving my free hand in my pocket.

“Why do you say that?”

“Can you just, uh, you know those papers I had on the Phantomhive Manor?”

“Yeah, they’re sitting next to me.”

I scratched at my forehead, moving my bangs aside. “Do you mind bringing them on your way over,” I asked her, keen on getting all of this done and over with. If he really was the missing Ciel Phantomhive, which was completely impossible, he’d have to prove it. How I was going to get him to prove it with the research I’d done, I didn’t know, but I planned on getting answers.

“We’re about to head over actually, you caught me just in time.”

“Great, thank you, Beck, I’ll see you when you get here.”

I hung up, quickening my pace to get to the coffee.

When I got back to the room, Dr. Nameed was standing just outside talking with two nurses, both of which I’d never seen before. “Ah, Ms. Carmichael, I was waiting for you to arrive, your fiancé said you’d gone for a moment and would like to meet with both of us,” he said as I approached.

“Of course,” I agreed, pushing open the door to reveal a very frustrated looking Ciel. His head turned in my direction, his always bitter blue eye set on me. I almost wanted to ask why he seemed frustrated, but before I could ask, he had an answer ready.

“I wish for earl grey tea, this woman claims to have none,” Ciel announced, waving his hand toward the nurse setting up the computer next to his bed. I rolled my eyes, receiving a look from the doctor, as if I was the one to control the man. How desperately I wanted to tell him that there was no way you could control him, and I hardly knew him.

I set the cup of coffee I’d fought with myself over onto the stand next to his bed. “There’s coffee for you,” I told him, sitting down in my usual chair, sipping at my own coffee. He eyed it woefully, touching the plastic hesitantly.

“No china?”

“This is a hospital, not a bed and bath,” I muttered irritably over the lid of my cup. “Doctor, why don’t we get started?”

“Right, yes,” the doctor said, clearing his throat. By the look on his face, I knew he thought our interaction as odd, and Ciel’s random spurts of ridiculous statements even more so. “Well, your vitals look good, Mr. Bennett, your blood count is back up in the range we like to see. I’m still somewhat worried about your concussion, however. It seems you’ve been a little…on edge, since you awoke earlier.”

“I cannot help feeling trapped while bedridden in a place I know not of,” Ciel said, his snobbish attitude making me want to smack him. “I wish to leave this place with my fiancé and go on with my life.”

“I can understand your frustration, Mr. Bennett, though I strongly recommend you stay in our care for at least another few-“

“Do you think my fiancé unworthy of caring for me, Doctor?”

The question went unanswered in stunned silence, both the nurse and Dr. Nameed sharing glances of uncertainty. “I-I didn’t say anything against her ability to take care of you, Mr. Bennett, I only want to be 100% sure you are well enough to go home,” the doctor stammered, clearly unsure of how to answer Ciel’s rather blunt question. “You suffered a great attack last night that has left you with broken and cracked ribs, and-“

“I’m fully aware of my condition, Doctor, I feel it with every breath,” Ciel said darkly, aiming his startling blue eye at the doctor. “Now, if there are no further issues with my condition in this horrid place, I would like to take my leave.”

“Actually, I think I agree with the doctor,” I piped up suddenly. Ciel’s dark gaze fixated on me. “I’m not entirely sure I can take care of you on my own.”

“Nonsense,” Ciel exclaimed loudly, slamming his fist down on the table. “I refuse to stay in this decrepit hole any longer. Doctor, release me. I am growing impatient with this absurd display.”

“Your fiancé sure knows how to argue, doesn’t he,” the nurse asked me quietly as Ciel and the doctor continued to argue over his release. I watched in awe while Ciel held his own despite his condition, the doctor slowly but surely coming around to Ciel’s side. How on earth did he manage to persuade people into doing his bidding?

“You could say that again,” I whispered back to her, watching Ciel smirk proudly as the doctor finally gave in.

Dr. Nameed turned to me, a look of shock on his face. “I’ll send Ms. Hansen in with the documents for his release in an hour,” he said in a dazed voice before exiting the room with the nurse. I stared at their backs until the door closed then turned my attention to the now grim looking Ciel.

“How the hell did you do that?”

“If you are inquiring about my apt ability to persuade others, it’s a simple skill to learn and master.”

“Hmm, and once you leave the hospital, where do you expect to go?”

“My home, of course.” I paused, unsure of how to go about telling him the truth about his ‘home’. My pause was enough to get his attention, and his head turned towards me. “Why do you pause?”

Clearing my throat, I shifted uncomfortably. “Um, well-“

“Get on with it, girl,” he spat.

I gave him a look of annoyance. “Your home is no longer livable.”

“What on earth are you going on about?”

“Well-“

“Is he awake?!”

The door suddenly opened to reveal Becky, Jake, and Corey waltzing in, their faces painted in excitement and some hesitation. When they spotted the all too lively Ciel sitting up in the bed, the door closed and all was silent once more. I sighed, taking a large gulp of my coffee. This was going to be interesting.

“I dare say how rude one must be to enter a man’s quarters without knocking,” Ciel scoffed, pressing a hand to his abdomen as he winced in pain. “Do you know nothing of manners?”

“That’s what you’ve been putting up with all morning,” Jake asked, pointing a thumb in Ciel’s direction. 

“If you thought that was bad, you should have seen him when he woke up,” I shrugged, accepting the papers from Becky as she leaned against the wall behind me. 

“Bro, you have got to get a grip on yourself.”

Ciel’s blank expression led me to honestly believe he had no idea what Jake had just told him, and I had to hide the giggle that escaped my lips, turning it into a small cough. “Am I supposed to understand this Neanderthal and his language?”

All heads turned to me, but I held my hand up in defeat. “Do not look at me on this one, guys. I’ve had one cup of coffee and zero sleep since yesterday. If you want to hash it out, go for it.”

“Have you figured out who he is yet,” Corey asked.

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

“Yes, why don’t you,” Ciel asked gravely, his look lost on me as I looked at the papers in my lap.

_‘Ciel Phantomhive, born December 14th, 1875. Reportedly missing since March 3rd, 1888. Earl of Phantomhive Manor, owner of Funtom Company. Butler Sebastian Michaelis, known for obedience and personal watch dog to the Earl, also missing March 3rd, 1888. Suspects: None. Status: Assumed deceased. No further action required.’_

“You think you’re Ciel Phantomhive,” Jake asked, scrutinizing the supposed Phantomhive. He then looked at me, his brows raised. “And you believe him.”

“I didn’t say I believed him,” I said, holding up a finger. Ciel’s blazing gaze once again found me and I gave him a look in return. “I don’t know what to think of this whole situation. It’s bizarre and uncomfortable and I’m too tired to deal with the reality of it all.”

“You’re the one who wanted to save him,” Corey grumbled.

“She did a most noble thing, saving my life. I wonder had any of you done the same were you in her position.”

I eyed Ciel silently, then turned back to the papers on my lap. _‘Father: Vincent Phantomhive (deceased). Mother: Rachel Phantomhive (deceased). Siblings: None. Known family: Claudia Phantomhive, grandmother (deceased). Angelina Dalles, aunt (deceased). Francis Midford, aunt (deceased). Edward Midford, cousin (deceased). Elizabeth Midford, cousin, fiancé (deceased). Living relatives: None. Known as: Guard Dog to the Queen.’_

“He talked his way out of staying here,” I informed everyone after I finished reading his lineage. It seemed after he went missing, the Phantomhive name had died, leaving no other clues of where he could have been. Whatever had been in that Manor was now either destroyed or stolen, leaving another dead end on evidence of who he was. “The doctor is getting papers for his release.”

“Where do you plan to go,” Becky asked Ciel, who’d been silent practically this whole time. Ciel eyed her quietly then sighed, holding his chest as he did so.

“Before we were so rudely interrupted by your incessant need for attention, Alexis was going to explain the reason I could not return to my home. Now that the question has been brought up once more, I would like for her to continue.”

All eyes centered on me, and once again, I was left to do the hard work of explaining logic to Ciel. “The Manor, it um, well, it’s kind of-“

“It’s destroyed, man,” Jake finished for me, and I sent a glare his way.

Ciel was silent for a moment, his eye focused on his hands in his laps before he lifted his eyes to me. “That is impossible,” Ciel said stonily, beginning to shake his head. “I remember it. The manor had been rebuilt to the exact replica. Sebastian saw to this.”

“Who’s Sebastian?”

“His butler,” I answered for Ciel.

“I was at my desk, signing papers for Funtom,” Ciel continued, and by the look of his eye flitting over his hands and body, he was trying to remember something. “Sebastian had come in and-and-“ His voice trailed off and he shook his head violently, closing his eye tightly. “Oh, this is absurd. The Phantomhive Manor stands proud as does the master of the property. I refuse to believe the words of riffraff.”

Corey peered at me, but I merely shrugged. At least they hadn’t been called prostitutes. “Look, say you really are Ciel Phantomhive, where the hell have you been for the last hundred years?”

“127 years,” I corrected, but Ciel wasn’t paying attention anymore. Instead, his eye had closed and it seemed as if he was mumbling to himself under his breath. Corey had brought up a good point. If this was the real Ciel Earl of Phantomhive, where had he been and why had he only grown to 20 some odd years old? It didn’t make sense. “Ciel?”

His eye opened and looked at me, his jaw set in stone. “I cannot remember where I have been, how I’ve come to be here, or why I was chosen to be here,” he replied sharply. “I have truly been gone for over one hundred years?”

“Okay, okay, back up.” Jake shook his head and held up his hands. “Are we really going to sit here and believe this guy? He claims to be some long lost rich kid who went missing in the 1800s. How the hell would he still be alive, and why the hell would he look like he just stepped out of a fucking magazine? Save for the eye, I mean.”

“Your language offends me,” Ciel stated icily, his gaze now on Jake.

Jake scoffed, turning away from Ciel to hide his frustration. “I’m sorry, C-Ciel,” Becky said softly, though even uttering his name seemed difficult for her. “We’re trying to understand your situation, but we don’t have much to go on. I mean these things don’t happen. Magic and fairytales and goblins and ghosts and demons don’t exist, and neither, unfortunately, does time traveling.”

Ciel’s lips turned into a vicious smirk, secretive and aware, his lid drooped as he looked down at his hands. “Demons,” he whispered, lifting his hand to touch the patch over his eyes. “Demons do not exist, do they?”

“No, Ciel, they don’t.” I stared quietly at Ciel’s reaction to this conversation. Something about his expression and demeanor didn’t sit right with me, and something deep in my gut told me Ciel knew more than he was letting on about this particular subject. “But, we’ll figure it out.”

“Why exactly are we taking this on as our burden,” Jake intercepted, leaning against the wall in front of Ciel’s bed. I groaned. “Alex, you said yourself that you wanted to make sure he was okay and then we’d be done with this. He’s obviously fine barking orders at other people. We should just leave.”

“Can we just chill for like five minutes so I can at least close my eyes and relax,” I asked loudly, pressing my hand over my eyes. The lack of sleep was really starting to get to me, and the constant arguing over the next move was almost as bad. “Please, I haven’t slept in over 24 hours and I just can’t handle all this shit right now.”

“This is your fault,” Jake said venomously, and I lifted my head to see him glaring at Ciel.

“God, Jake, just go out in the hall or something,” I told him, unable to keep the irritation from my voice. “Corey, please?”

Corey nodded silently, ushering Jake out of the room while Ciel, Becky, and I shifted our attention back to the problem at hand. Becky turned to look at me then kneeled down to my level. “I’m leaving this one up to you, Ally,” she said quietly, her brown eyes searching my blue ones.

I looked to Ciel, who’d turned his head away from us. Although he really wasn’t my problem, he had no connection to my life, I somehow felt obligated to help him. By his reaction to the heart monitor, the IV, and calling me a prostitute, I was sure outside the hospital walls, he’d be a complete wreck, and probably end up in jail or dead. Since I’d taken the trouble of getting him here to keep him alive, I didn’t want all of this nonsense to be for nothing.

The way he looked was almost heartbreaking. Confidence oozed from the broken man, but anyone who paid attention could see he was hurting, confused, lost. His hard appearance shielded the pain inside, and I knew that from experience. A hard exterior meant for a soft interior, although with some people, you really didn’t know. With Ciel, I felt confident that there was something deep within him that haunted him.

“Ciel?” His blue eye came to rest on my face. “If I offered you a place with me, and my help in finding out who you really are, or where you came from, would you accept?”

“I would.”

“I have one condition.”

That playful smirk returned to his lips. “Are you making a contract with me?”

“I’m making a simple request from someone I intend to help.” With a sigh and a wince, Ciel waved his hand for me to continue. “No more fits in public,” I told him, and when he opened his mouth to rebuttal, I shook my head. “If you have problems, questions, concerns, you come to me and you ask. You don’t demand explanations, and you damn well better behave, or this is off the table and you’re on your own.”

“Simple indeed,” Ciel said sarcastically, raising a brow at me. After a moment, he gave a quick nod. “I accept your condition, and your hospitality.”

“Good, then it’s settled.” Becky watched us silently, her eyes flitting between us before she turned her gaze to my face.

“How long will you stay here?”

“In the hospital? Probably another-“

“No, in London.”

I rubbed my cheek slowly. “Well hopefully I can figure all this out in the week that I have, but if I can’t,” I trailed off, looking down at the papers in my lap. If I couldn’t figure it out in a week, what would I do? Leave Ciel to fend for himself? He’d proven himself to be terrible with people and even less with technology. “If I can’t do it in a week, then I’ll have to pull from the trust fund and stay longer.”

“Are you sure you want to do that?”

“Would you do it for me?”

Becky gave me a pointed look. “That’s completely different, Ally, you’re like a sister,” she commented, but I just smiled.

“Yeah, and apparently he’s my fiancé.”

The room grew silent after that, and after a moment, I scooted the chair closer to the bed. Ciel’s eye followed my every move, but at this point, I didn’t care what he said, or did. I needed a power nap to get through the rest of the day. Without a word, I rested my arms on the side of his bed, careful not to touch him, and finally put my head down.

“Alex, the nurse is here,” I heard Becky whisper near my ear, and I shook myself awake, opening my eyes quickly. I lifted my head, rubbing at my irritated eyes. The nurse smiled gracefully at my tired appearance and handed me a clipboard. I peered at the documents for Ciel’s release.

“Now Mr. Bennett,” the nurse began as she rounded his bed.

Ciel gave her a smooth and attractive smile, looking up at her with his beautiful blue orb. I rolled my eyes as the nurse went jelloid at the sight, completely captivated by the raven haired man. “Logan, please,” he said in a seductive loll. Give me a break, I thought, reading over the documents the best I could.

“Logan,” she breathed out slowly, not breaking eye contact with Ciel.

“Whoa,” Becky said, astonished. It was the same reaction Dr. Nameed had when Ciel pulled his tricks on him.

“Can we get on with this please,” I asked fiercely, tossing the signed documents onto the stand. Ciel broke eye contact, shifting his gaze to me, but I gave him a look that clearly said ‘don’t fuck with me right now’. That smirk returned as the nurse looked at my signature.

“Thank you, Ms. Carmichael,” the nurse said, pulling out a pair of sterilized gloves from her pocket. “Now Logan, I’m going to take out your IV first, and then I’m going to show all three of you how to wrap ribs properly. Is that okay?” Ciel nodded tensely, watching the nurse begin her assault on his arm.

Becky and I turned away from the needle being pulled out of his arm, scrunching our noses at each other. I had been covered in his blood twelve hours ago, but I couldn’t handle watching a needle come out of his arm. “I’ll get another hotel room,” I told Becky as the nurse bandaged where the needle had come from.

“Are you sure?”

“Do you really want to be stuck in a room with Mr. High and Mighty,” I asked her jokingly, receiving an exasperated look in return. I shrugged. Humor fixed most things, especially my mood right now. “Seriously, I don’t mind getting another room. Besides, he’s probably going to keep me up all night anyways.”

“Do you realize that I can hear you,” Ciel asked in monotone.

“Loud and clear,” I said cheerfully, sending him a way too bright smile. Oh how I wanted out of here. Ciel’s lips set in a hard line. “No need to worry about me, I mean really, we’re going to be in the same building.”

“If you say so,” Becky said uncertainly. “You know I’m going to ask you again once you’re not so sleep deprived.”

Ugh, sleep. It sounded so wonderful at that moment. “I know you are.”

After the nurse got Ciel’s ribs rewrapped, which it was safe to say that all our eyes were glued to his perfectly sculpted abs and slender figure, she began to discuss the medications they were sending him home with. Ciel stared blankly while I listened haphazardly, wishing she’d get on with it already. “Would you like a wheelchair,” the nurse asked finally, pulling the blanket from Ciel’s legs to toss in a bin against the wall.

“No,” he replied at the same time I said “yes.” Ciel sent me a glare, but I shrugged. I’m only human, and he’s not as light as he looks. He may be slender, but his height made up for the lack of body fat. I’m sure once he regained full strength, he’d stand at least a foot taller than me.

“Yes,” I reiterated as the nurse looked between us. She smiled and disappeared from the room, leaving Ciel to continue to glare at me. “Hey, I’m small, you’re not. I can’t carry you out of here.”

“So be it,” he mumbled, beginning to move off the bed slowly. I finally noticed that the hospital had provided him with a pair of white hospital pants that actually fit. When did that happen? Ciel rested a hand on my shoulder and pulled himself up, a soft groan escaping him as the weight transferred onto his ribs and sore legs.

“Doesn’t feel so good to stand, does it?”

“Shut up,” he spat, and I let go of him. Ciel fell to the bed again, crying out in pain as he touched his ribs.

“I told you not to be rude,” I informed him again. He muttered an apology, which I quickly accepted and moved to help him from the bed. The nurse finally came back with the wheelchair, and Ciel collapsed into it, closing his eye in relief.

I took the prescription from the nurse, thanked her, and followed Becky out of the room, noting that Corey and Jake were nowhere to be seen. “They already left,” Becky whispered to me, and I nodded slowly.

Ciel had his eye closed as we parted ways with the hospital hallway, but opened it as soon as the doors to the parking garage opened. I paused, putting the brakes on the wheelchair as Becky went to tell the cab driver where we were going. Ciel’s face was one of shock, staring wide eyed and open mouthed at the cab in front of us.

“What,” I asked him, looking between him and the car.

Ciel looked up at me then back down at the car. “What in God’s name is that contraption?”

***

Getting Ciel up to the hotel room without bringing attention to ourselves was incredibly difficult and time consuming. Instead of following my instructions to keep his mouth shut and keep walking, he threw demands at every single hotel staff he saw. I had half the mind to leave him in the lobby and come back when he finished being a pretentious prick, but my common sense told me that was the worst idea I could come up with.

“Ciel, you’re getting heavy, will you please hurry it up,” Becky grumbled on the other side of Ciel, who was tucked under his shoulder.

“I require my afternoon tea,” Ciel said in a dignified tone. I rolled my eyes, gripping his wrist tightly as we trudged on through the hotel. We received appalled looks as we passed a hoard of guests, whispers following us to the elevators. “Why is no one listening?”

“Because this isn’t your domain, now get a move on,” I said sourly, pressing the elevator button.

“What is this? Where are we going?”

I looked over at Becky, who gaped at me, then peered up at Ciel. His face was written in pure confusion, shifting his eye back and forth from the elevator doors to the button I’d pressed. “It’s called an elevator, and we’re going to the hotel room,” I explained quietly, hoping to God no one could hear our conversation.

Ciel’s eye squinted as the bell dinged above us. “This is a trap,” he breathed, watching the door to the elevator slide open. “This elevator, it is like the car we traveled in?”

“The car doesn’t go up. We’re going up.”

“Are there no stairs in this building?”

I nudged him forward, forcing us to board the waiting elevator. Becky pressed the 11th floor and finally, we were hidden away from the stares that had followed us. “There are stairs, but I’m not hauling you up 11 floors,” Becky said under her breath, and I had to hide a smile against Ciel’s forearm.

“You find my questions funny, do you?”

“I think this is completely unbelievable, but yes, I do find them funny,” I said, locking eyes with Becky, humor written on our faces. “It’s like teaching a 2 year old in a 25 year old’s body. You’re like a child.”

Ciel scoffed, then winced, hunching over slightly. I groaned, feeling his weight press harder against my shoulder. “Do not mock me,” Ciel hissed in pain, his eye closing tightly.

“He’s going to need another dose,” Becky commented, and I silently agreed. I watched the numbers above the door slowly tick by, wishing the elevator could go faster. Hopefully Ciel would feel tired after taking the morphine and I could get a good 9 hours of sleep.

Finally, after a bunch of fumbling around trying to find the key to the room, we got Ciel out of sight and onto the bed. He looked exhausted from the long trek, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel bad for him at the moment. At least he had drugs to put him to sleep. I on the other hand had to wait for sleep to come, if he would let me have it.

Ciel held his ribs with both hands, pain clearly written on his face. “Well, what do we do with him now,” Becky asked me, wiping the sweat that had gathered on her forehead. I shrugged, my head becoming heavy. “I could find the guys, maybe catch some lunch, and let you sleep?”

“You have the right idea.”

Becky traded his medications for the room key and bid Ciel a polite goodbye before exiting the room. When the door clicked shut, Ciel’s eye popped open and found me. “That woman, she has a connection to you,” he observed, but I sighed. I wasn’t up for any more questions. “You are tired.”

It wasn’t a question. “Yes, Ciel, I am tired, and I would love it if you would let me get some sleep,” I told him, grabbing the pill bottle from the bag. “And I’m sure you’re in a lot of pain.”

“I can manage.”

“Yeah, well, I can’t manage you when I’m sleeping, so if you’d do me the favor and take these, I’d be grateful,” I said honestly, dumping two pills in the palm of my hand. Ciel eyed me suspiciously, but at the look I gave him in return, he sighed, sitting up the best he could to take them. I immediately filled a plastic cup with water and handed it to him.

“You say this is morphine?”

“Wrapped in a tiny white shell, yeah.”

Ciel turned the pills over in his hand, as if he were reminiscing. “I remember this drug,” he whispered, sliding his thumb over one of the pills. “The townspeople would sell this to the prostitutes and clergymen for a high price. The Queen had ordered me to put a stop to it.”

“It was only in liquid form back then, wasn’t it?” I had to humor him.

“Liquid or powder,” he confirmed. “Do I chew them?”

“No, you swallow them whole.”

He tilted his head back and popped the pills into his mouth, downing them with water. When I knew he’d swallowed them, I pulled off my jacket and hoodie, yawning widely. I could feel Ciel’s eye following me about the room as I prepared myself for sleep, pulling my hair up into a ponytail. Ciel’s eye squinted at this and I raised an eyebrow at him in question.

“Why do you wear your hair as if you are not proud of it?”

“Should I be,” I mumbled, kicking off my shoes and tossing my socks onto my suitcase.

“Your hair is the shade of the finest wine, you should be proud.”

I paused, turning to look at Ciel. His blue eye was locked on me, piercing into me like a knife. “Was that a compliment?”

“Take it as you wish. I grow tired.”

“You and me both,” I said, exhaustion finally coming to a head. I pulled the shades closed and crawled onto the opposite bed, grabbing the remote to the flat screen TV in front of us. My mouth opened to ask what he wanted to watch, but I had to stop myself. God knows I’d have to explain what ‘this contraption’ was and have a list of questions to answer. I sighed, moving my legs under the covers before I looked at the other bed, finding Ciel with his eye closed and his chest moving with soft breaths. Thank God.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, it gets difficult writing about someone not knowing what technology is, but it can be fun at the same time. Writing Ciel like this makes me giddy.
> 
> As usual, comments and kudos are always appreciated!


	3. Dirty Little Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ciel and Alexis go back to the Phantomhive Manor only to find an unwelcome guest waiting for them.

***

“What nonsense!”

I gasped, sitting up quickly to the sound of a shout from the bathroom. Darkness was cut sharply with the glow of a light from the open door, where I assumed Ciel was fiddling around with something he shouldn’t. I rubbed at my eyes, peering at the clock sitting on the nightstand, little red numbers indicating I’d slept nearly 8 hours. With a quiet sigh, I turned the lamp on, yawning softly as I stretched out.

“Ciel, what are you doing,” I asked as I pushed the blankets aside, pulling my hair from its confines. A growl and sharp intake of breath followed my question. Rolling my eyes, I pushed the door open a few more inches to reveal a sight I was not expecting to see. Ciel had managed to get himself stuck in the shirt the hospital had provided him, which had been tight to begin with. Now with the extent of injuries to his torso, getting a shirt off was another obstacle he was not used to handling.

“I cannot get this ridiculous shirt off of me,” Ciel growled, his hair poking out from the neck of the shirt. His arms were pinned at an angle, his elbows clearly stuck in the sides of the shirt. I wanted desperately to take a picture of this and blackmail him later, but I decided not to. Getting even was not in my nature.

“Do you want help?”

“I always have help,” Ciel said irritably, moving his arms a little then gasping in pain. “I never used to dress myself. Sebastian would dress and undress me every morning and every evening.”

“You’ve never had to dress yourself.”

He sighed in frustration, earning another painful gasp. “I never had to,” he seethed.

“Why are you trying to get this off anyways, Ciel? You could have woken me.”

I lightly touched his elbow so he knew of my presence, and he stopped wriggling about. “Just get this off me.” He was such a drama queen. I gently rolled the fabric over his elbows, then slid his arms out of the holes, pulling the shirt off completely. Ciel’s eye sparkled in the overhead light, shining a solid blue as intense as the ocean itself.

I looked down at the wrappings around his torso. They had come undone slightly with his struggling, and I sighed, reaching out to touch them. He slapped my hand away gently, and I gazed up at him again. “You need to change them,” I argued, gesturing to the wrap.

“I can do it myself.”

“Like you could undress yourself?” His cheeks turned a bright pink, his jaw setting tensely. Was he blushing? “You were going to shower?”

“I don’t know what that is,” he answered tersely.

I moved behind him, reaching over to turn the shower head on. Ciel watched in calm amazement as he learned yet another thing about our time. It felt strange, somehow believing the insanity that he had traveled through time. But there was no way, even with the greatest of actors, that he could keep up an act so incredible to fool someone. And with what purpose? What could he gain by tricking others into believing he was Ciel Phantomhive? A lifetime sentence to the loony bin was about all he’d accomplish.

“You were right,” Ciel said quietly, almost too quiet for me to hear over the pounding water. I turned to face him, but he was facing the sink, his hands resting against the counter. “I wanted to bathe. I feel grotesque and unkempt. That is very rare for a Phantomhive, to not be worthy of stepping outside the grounds.”

“I’ll leave you to it then.”

I went to leave, but felt a hand touch my lower back. Ciel had his hands at his sides when I turned, though he was starting to slouch from the pressure on his ribs. “I-I wish for help to take these wretched bandages off,” he said awkwardly. I pursed my lips.

“Sure.” His breathing hitched as I began peeling the wrap around his torso, my hands brushing the skin of his biceps every now and then. I couldn’t help but notice how cold his skin seemed, but then remembered how cold it was in the room. Turning the heat on would be necessary once I was done in here.

Finally, I pulled the wrap from his body, but I froze, staring down at his side in silence. At first I thought it was a tattoo, but as I looked closer, I realized it was a brand. A pentagram had been burned into his ribcage. The skin had healed beautifully, like it was some sort of birth mark rather than a brand.

“We’re finished,” Ciel said suddenly, turning away from me to hide the mark on his skin. I took a deep breath, nodding slightly.

“I’ll be out here,” I said softly, closing the door behind me as I left the bathroom. I promptly went for the hospital bag we’d brought back to the hotel with the papers filled with Phantomhive facts and swiftly began reading through them. Skimming each page one by one, I searched for anything on a family brand, but found nothing. I tossed the papers aside as I collapsed back onto the bed.

What did I get myself into? A good deed had suddenly turned into an adventure that I somehow couldn’t bring myself to get out of. It would have helped if I didn’t look past the irritatingly smug outlook he had that was drilled into his brain at a young age. From the facts and blurbs I found on Ciel Phantomhive, he was notorious for his cruelty and lack of emotion towards anything and everything.

Even as a preteen, Ciel Phantomhive ran business like an adult would, and he made a great name for himself by doing so. He was feared and adored by his peers, some even loathed him. One had even loved him, though she wasn’t a peer. Elizabeth Midford had been his betrothed since birth to carry on the Phantomhive name, and she’d grown fond of him in many ways. 

I was surprised to think anyone could feel anything towards him other than respect, fear, or loathing, but women were fickle. It was said, from the facts I’d gathered, that even Ciel himself had come to care for Elizabeth. Doubts clouded my mind that the man in the shower was Ciel Phantomhive, but only time would tell. If he wasn’t and I found the truth, it would be easier to toss him on the streets and not care. I could go back to Washington and carry on with school like none of this had happened.

But what if he was?

“Ugh,” I groaned loudly, covering my face with my hands.

“I require your help once more, I’m afraid,” I heard Ciel say, and I popped up quickly, staring up at him. I hadn’t heard the shower turn off and…my brain went completely numb.

Ciel was hunched over, a towel wrapped around his small waist, still wet from his shower. The patch over his eye was now gone, leaving the wounded eye to reveal itself, but that wasn’t what I was staring at. His shiny black hair dangled over his forehead in wet strands, his blue eye standing out against the harsh darkness. I felt my jaw go slack at the sight of water droplets falling from the tips of his hair down his still bruised torso towards the edge of the towel, partially covering the very attractive V of his hip bones.

Goddamn it, Ciel.

“W-what do you need help with,” I asked, clearing my throat and knocking myself from my awkward staring.

“Is there something amiss?”

“Nope, nope, I’m good.” 

Ciel gave me a look that clearly said he knew I was lying, but I shrugged it off. “I seem to have lost all energy and I know without a doubt you will fuss if I do not have those itchy bandages over my ribs again,” he said tiredly. It was evident that he was losing his ability to keep himself upright.

“Um, okay, yeah.” I instantly grabbed the bag of bandages and went over to him, wrapping his arm over my shoulder. He was still cold, despite the hot shower. Odd. I helped him to the bed and gently sat him down, watching his face etch in pain. “I’m sorry you’re in pain.”

“Nothing I haven’t felt before,” he said, waving off my concern. Such a man. With the corner of the towel I’d left hanging off the chair earlier, I began wiping off the excess water around his ribs, attempting not to press too hard. “If I were back in my time, it would not be a question of you helping me. You would automatically do it without hesitation.”

“I guess so, but thankfully, I’m not in your time,” I said, sending him a smirk as I tossed the towel away. Ciel reciprocated with a glare of his own. “I’d be a terrible maid anyways. At home, I’m kind of a slob. Being a student and working full time, it’s hard coming home and cleaning up after myself all the time.”

Ciel was silent for a few moments as I began wrapping his torso. “A student,” he repeated, and I nodded. “You attend a college?”

“One of the best in the United States,” I responded, trying to keep my eyes at his chest. It was hard not to look up into that gorgeous face, or look down at his… “I’m in my third year there.”

“What is your age?”

“I’m 23.”

I tucked the remaining bandage away and looked up at him, only just realizing how close our faces were. His face was inches from mine, his blue eye staring at me curiously from under the shadow of his black hair. Ciel let out a soft breath and instantly, butterflies the size of airplanes crash against my insides. I pulled away from him, shaken from the new and uncomfortable moment we’d shared.

“We’re going to have to invest in a cane or something if you’re going to keep walking around,” I told him, moving to grab the clothes from the bathroom. “I mean eventually we’re going to have to leave the room and-“

“My cane,” Ciel roared from the bed, and I peeked my head out of the bathroom to blink at him. He had his hand against the new wrappings, but his face look determined. “I have a cane, at the manor.”

“But I didn’t see-“

“Because you weren’t looking,” he interrupted, moving to stand from his perch on the bed. I sighed, watching him wince and grimace at the pain as he moved. For someone in so much pain, he sure had a graceful look about him. “I must go to the manor. I’m sure it is there.”

“Ciel, it’s late, we’re not going to-“

“I must,” Ciel said in a finalizing tone. Irritably, I went for my purse, grabbing my phone from it. “What are you doing?”

“If you must go to the manor, you’re not going naked.”

Ciel peered down at his half naked body and went quiet. “I see.”

One ring. 

“Becky, I need you.”

***

“This garment is horribly itchy,” Ciel grumbled in vexation, scratching at his legs.

Becky had begged and pleaded with Jake to let Ciel borrow some of his clothes until we could go shopping the next day, and finally showed up to the room twenty minutes after I called. Ciel had fought with us about putting on the skinny jeans, claiming they were irrational and not fit for a noble, but eventually, with the promise of going to the manor, he’d given in. With the help of both of us, Ciel had forced the pants over his hips and stared down at them with conviction.

“Will you stop complaining for five seconds,” I asked under my breath, pulling my legs up to my chest. Becky had agreed to drive us to the manor in the rental car, leaving Jake and Corey at the pub down the street until we returned. I was thankful for her help, because dealing with Ciel on my own was almost too much for one person to handle. How he kept his butler around for so long, I would never know.

“I do not like this overcoat,” Ciel announced, flicking the zipper of the borrowed hoodie up and down with his finger. “What is the point of this…thing?”

“It’s called a zipper and it obviously keeps the jacket closed,” I snapped, smacking his hand away from the zipper. Ciel didn’t seem shocked by my behavior, but instead, amused. I bit back another comment and turned back to face the windshield, receiving a smile from Becky.

“You two are comical,” she stated, and I bit my tongue, shaking my head. Comical or not, sometimes the man was insufferable. “I think it’s-“

“There,” Ciel said from behind me, his finger pointing out to the side of the car. Becky slowed, turning into the long driveway towards the manor. How he spotted that in the dark without passing it a hundred times was beyond me. When the four of us had come here the night before, we’d gone by the driveway close to ten times looking for it.

Ciel was silent as Becky parked the car, his eye soaking in the diminished piece of history. I took off my seatbelt, turning to face him completely, but he didn’t look my way. He was glued to the manor. “I’m sorry you have to see it this way,” I said softly, my heart aching little by little at the shock on his face.

“There was a garden,” he said mutely, more to himself than us. “There, under the windows. I had it built to lure in my guests, to keep Lizzie-“ He trailed off, wincing at the name. “I have seen my home in ruins once before. I did not believe I would see it again.”

“You couldn’t have known this would happen.”

“No, how could I?”

Ciel went silent again, his face slowly returning to its emotionless state. After a few minutes, I began to open my door. “Come on, it’s best to get this over with quickly,” I ordered, pulling my hood over my head. Ciel nodded curtly, inching his way out of the backseat as Becky climbed out of her side.

I pushed his door closed, reaching for his arm to put it over my shoulder, but he refused, holding his hand up. “I will ask for your assistance when I need it,” he mumbled, and I accepted that. Before he could protest, I pulled the hood over his head. He looked down at me in confusion, but I shrugged.

“Don’t want to get sick as well as injured,” I justified, beginning the walk towards the manor. I could hear Ciel behind me, moving somewhat faster than a snail. This would take forever, but if it’s what he needed to understand his circumstances, so be it.

Once inside, Ciel’s behavior became even more cold and brooding. Understandable, but it was still unbelievably unnecessary. He held onto the walls as we began walking up the stairs, his breathing labored and harsh. Several times, I asked him if he wanted my help, but he would snap and growl about being fine. Becky gave me a reassuring look every time, but I shrugged it off. I was getting really good at shrugging shit off in the last 24 hours.

A soft bang from the second floor made me stop, and instantly, I was brought back to finding Ciel next to the bed. I paused, listening for it again, and heard voices following yet another bang. Becky looked at me wide eyed, then back at Ciel, who didn’t seem phased by the fact that there were intruders in his old home. I sighed, shaking my head at his determination to be the strong and fearless leader he knew himself to be.

“Honestly, I assumed Bassy would keep his young master’s home in better shape than this,” I heard a shrill voice say loudly as we entered the hallway of the second floor. “That little brat has gone missing and now I’m the one cleaning up the mess. Oh Bassy, my dear, you terrible, terrible man.”

“I know that voice,” Ciel piped up, and I looked back at him, watching him attempt to stand up straight. He groaned softly, and I immediately went to his side, resting his arm on my shoulders. For a second, I thought he’d push away, but he looked more relieved to be rid of the weight he was carrying. “I’ve heard it before.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.” Ciel let his attention fall to Becky. “Go back to the car. Now.”

Becky’s eyes flitted between the two of us, fear evident on her face. “B-but, Alex-”

“I can only protect one of you, now please listen to what I say, Becky.” Ciel’s voice was hard, but Becky didn’t hesitate. She let out a short gust of breath and was gone from our sight within seconds. “Don’t move from my side, do you hear me, Alexis?”

“Pretty sure you can’t go much further without me by your side.”

Ciel gripped my shoulder tight. “Do not move from my side.”

“My love, my stunningly beautiful dark Bassy, how could you have done such a terrible thing,” I heard the voice coo.

“What? What is it,” I asked quietly, looking up at him.

He didn’t reply, only shuffled us forward faster. Suddenly, he let go and shoved the door to the bedroom open, falling to his knees from the movement. I went to his side, but he didn’t look at me. His eye was glued to the figure standing just underneath the painting I’d spotted the night before.

I gasped, covering my mouth with both of my hands to keep from screaming. The figure was dressed in blood red and white Victorian style clothing, red hair flowing down their back to the floor. Bright pure green eyes stared down menacingly at us from behind a pair of red reading glasses, a mischievous smile coating his lips. His smile widened as I continued to watch him, showing off sharpened pearly white teeth.

“Well, well, well, Ciel Phantomhive.”

Ciel’s jawline tensed, his lips curling back as he growled the man’s name.

“Grell Sutcliff.”

***

I gaped at the two, backing away from Ciel slowly, but my movement had caught the attention of the man, whose green eyes followed my every step. Before I could register what happened, my back was against the wall and the man’s hand was on my cheek, his eyes glaring down at me in the darkness.

“Oh you naughty, naughty little boy, Ciel,” Grell laughed, the hand disappearing as quickly as it had come. I held my breath, looking up at him as my heart thumped loudly in my chest. “Snatching pretty things out of the darkness, are we?”

“Get your hands off of her,” Ciel growled darkly, turning to face us in the shadows, clutching at his chest.

“Very well,” Grell said cheerfully, vanishing to the other side of the room. I watched, my blood running cold. This couldn’t be real. There had to be an explanation for the quickness that this man moved. “Bassy will be so pleased I found you. Oh I can’t wait to feel his searing kiss against my-“

“Grell, what are you doing here,” Ciel interrupted, struggling to stand from his position on the floor.

Grell sighed dramatically, sweeping his hair from his shoulders. “What is it with you humans and interrupting me all the time,” Grell whined, tossing his arms in the air as he sat on the windowsill across from us.

Ciel stood from the floor, backing to the wall where I was standing and pressed his arm over me, shielding me from the strange man. “I demand to know what you are doing here, Grell,” Ciel shouted, cringing at the vibrations it would send through his chest cavity. Grell rested his chin on his hand and smiled blissfully at Ciel.

“Sebastian wouldn’t be pleased to know your human girl hasn’t been taking care of you, dear Ciel,” Grell purred, suddenly in front of us again. I hid behind Ciel’s back, gripping the hoodie tightly, wishing I’d gone back with Becky when I had the chance. “Broken ribs, I assume? My, have you grown. I remember it as if it were yesterday, such a small young thing you were.”

“Where is Sebastian, Grell?”

Grell clapped and giggled in delight. “Oh I do love mysteries,” he cried, moving to the fireplace as he looked up at the painting. When I looked again at the painting I’d seen last night, there was no mistaking who the man before me was. He had the same haunted look, same icy blue eye, and the hair was exactly as it was in the painting. Though his face had grown into sharper features, there was no question.

He really was Ciel Phantomhive.

“Do you hear that, my sweet,” Grell asked the painting, hopping up onto the fireplace to snuggle up against the painting of the butler. That must be Sebastian. “The boy has no idea what happened to him. Oh this is exciting, yes it is.”

“Grell, answer me at once! Where is Sebastian?”

Grell looked down at us again, leaning against the painting as he folded his arms. “Years have passed and you are still the same pain that drove Sebby mad,” Grell sighed, jumping from the fireplace. “If you must know, Sebastian is out looking for you. It seems he has lost his young master, but here you are, yet you are not found.”

“Do not speak in riddles to me, Reaper,” Ciel said irritably, his weight beginning to fall against me. I pressed on his back to help him continue standing. It was the least I could do to keep him as my temporary bodyguard. “I am still the master of this household, rotted or not, and you will behave as such in my presence.”

A joyful laugh escaped the man, who bounded over to us with a grin. “This is most enchanting, Ciel,” Grell chirped, clapping his hands again. “You are here, Sebastian is there, I have found you, and now I can make Bassy mine forever! Isn’t this wonderful, girl?” His gaze found mine and I gripped tightly to the back of Ciel’s hoodie. “She’s so quiet, Ciel, so different from Elizabeth. Is she to replace your betrothed?”

“I am getting nowhere with you, Grell, and I grow impatient! I will not put up with this nonsense game any longer!”

“Oh but you loved a good game once upon a time, didn’t you, Ciel? The games you would play, using my dear Sebby as a pawn. Not anymore, I’m afraid. You are now the pawn in this game.”

“What are you talking about,” Ciel asked, stunned. I shook my head, trying to register what they were saying to each other. None of it made any sense. “You know what has happened to me, Grell?”

Grell threw a flashy smile in Ciel’s direction, spinning in a circle causing the coat tails of his jacket to swing around him in hues of red. “Wonderful, simply wonderful,” Grell cried, falling back on the post of the bed. “The tables have turned against the brat, and he knows not why. Bassy, my love, soon we shall be together under the moonlight and you shall-“

“Grell!”

“Oh damn it,” Grell growled, stomping his foot in a fit.

“Tell me, Reaper, or I will-“

“You’ll what, Ciel,” Grell asked suddenly, his green eyes burning into Ciel. “You have no power against me, Halfling.” Ciel’s body froze with his words.

“W-what did you call me?”

“Oh bother,” Grell said, throwing his hands in the air. “Bassy will be so disappointed I’ve ruined the surprise. Now I surely won’t get to bask in his glorious-“

“Grell, for heaven’s sake, tell me why you called me Halfling!”

Grell grinned from ear to ear, quite literally, showing off his rows of sharp teeth. He sauntered towards us, a black gloved hand reaching out to Ciel. “Let me show you,” he whispered excitedly, licking his lips slowly. Ciel stumbled back into me, pressing my further against the wall as Grell approached.

“Don’t come any closer,” Ciel warned, but Grell ignored his order, coming closer to us.

“It appears you’ve put an end to the contract,” Grell hissed, his hand reaching to touch Ciel’s face. I whimpered pathetically against the fabric of Ciel’s hoodie, unable to take my eyes off the scene unfolding.

“I have put an end to nothing, Reaper.”

Grell giggled boastfully, his face inches from Ciel’s as he leaned into him. “You don’t even smell of a human anymore, Ciel,” Grell whispered gleefully. “I can stand being around you now. If it weren’t for Sebastian, oh, I’d love to see the things you could do.”

“Explain yourself, Grell,” Ciel ordered, attempting to stand straighter. I took a deep breath, earning a look of disgust from the red haired creature. It was too obvious by now that this was no human male, but something much, much darker. “I do not have time for this foolish nonsense.”

“Tell me, Phantomhive,” Grell began, pulling away from Ciel to perch on the fireplace again, crossing his legs elegantly. Ciel maneuvered himself in front of me as Grell moved, positioning me well enough so I could escape if I wanted. I would have, if my legs had permitted me to run. “Your hearing, has it improved since you entered this world?”

“What-“

“And your sight, do you see things more clearly? Even with just one eye?”

“How did you-“

Grell smiled ruefully, green eyes flashing in the dim light. “You have grown protective over this human,” Grell commented, waving a bored hand in my direction. “Does your appetite peak when you touch her?”

I flinched away from his words, letting go of Ciel’s hoodie as his head turned to me. His blue eye settled on me for a moment before turning back to Grell. “I feel no craving for food,” Ciel answered, but Grell just laughed, clapping his hands over his head. “What are you going on about, Grell?”

“My dear stupid boy, have you not figured it out yet? This is a simple riddle, one you know the answer to better than anyone else. Besides me of course,” Grell said in monotone, the first time he’d spoken without being over dramatic. “You cannot be this blind to your true nature. Even I, a grim reaper, sensed you from miles away. Though I do admit, your kind are very rare, some don’t even live past 14. You must be strong to live this long.”

“You’re wrong,” Ciel growled, his body rigid with anger. I began inching my way towards the doorway, hoping their conversation would be enough distraction for me to run without harming myself. “There’s no way I could be a-“

“Demon,” Grell said seductively. I froze, the blood draining from my face. Grell’s eyes found me, his smile growing again. “Oh yes, my dear, your sweet Ciel Phantomhive has the same fate as my beloved Sebastian. Of course, you’re not quite full demon. Something in that wickedly adorable child Trancy’s scheme went dreadfully wrong. And now my Sebby is exhausting himself looking for you to consume the rest of your soul.”

“Trancy,” Ciel whispered in recognition, lifting his head to look up at Grell. I pressed my hand against the wall, my heart racing uncomfortably as I inched my way further to the door. “That imbocile did this to me.”

“And got himself killed, the little rat. I’m a little surprised, Ciel, you of all pitiful humans should have known. Your injuries, they are healing quicker than normal rate, are they not?” Ciel’s hand twitched as if to touch his ribs, but stayed still and silent. Grell smiled at him. “Just as I thought.”

I felt something hit my back and I screamed, turning around to see another man dressed in a black suit, yellow-green eyes staring down at me in disgust. Ciel wrapped his hand around my elbow and pulled me back to him, wincing slightly when I fell against his chest. “Stay here,” he whispered into my ear harshly, and I nodded weakly, my eyes unable to leave the new presence.

“A demon and a human, Grell, I cannot fathom your choice of company,” the man said emotionlessly, pushing his rectangular glasses up his nose. “And running errands for the hound, how despicable.”

“William, you must know by now the company I keep,” Grell said loudly, raising his hands above his head. “It is no secret whom I crave.”

“Indeed,” the man agreed, tightening his grip on a book hidden under his arm. “However, whilst you sit around wasting time in this place, there are lives to be taken. You have broken many rules, all of which I should not have to repeat to you, again. Now, we must take our leave. No time for goodbyes, I fear.”

“But William,” Grell argued in a whine.

“Come, Grell,” William said, turning to leave, but Ciel stopped him.

“Wait, I have more questions,” Ciel said hurriedly. The man merely looked at Ciel as if he couldn’t be bothered to care.

“I have much to do and have no time for demon scum. Now, Grell.”

Grell sighed dramatically, jumping down gracefully from the fireplace and sidling up to Ciel. “Farewell, Phantomhive and his little human, it has been-“ He was cut off by a hand wrapping tightly around his neck, and suddenly, Grell and the man named William were gone.

I clutched at my chest, falling to my knees as I tried to catch my breath. The events that had revealed themselves were finally taking ahold of me. My entire world had been turned upside down. Everything I knew, everything I had believed, was now tarnished by the sudden realization that there were things in this world much worse than a human war. Grim Reapers, demons, what next? Witches and wizards from Harry Potter would appear in the fireplace?

Ciel’s hand touched my shoulder, but I recoiled, moving away from him as quickly as I could. “Don’t touch me,” I gasped, pressing my back against the wall next to me. His blue eye scrutinized me before he kneeled down, bowing his head. “You’re a-a demon, Ciel, and you really are Ciel Phantomhive!”

“I’ve been trying to tell you who I am.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me you were a demon!”

Ciel lifted his head, glaring at me. “Were you not in this room to hear or are you deaf,” he asked viciously, his lip curling over his teeth. “I have clearly found out my true self just as you did. Does that mean nothing to you? I have not changed.”

“Except you’re a demon,” I sputtered, attempting to keep tears from forming in my eyes. The tears weren’t from being disappointed about finding out what he was, they were more out of fear than anything. I open my heart to help someone and it gets slapped right back in my face. Ciel, a demon. No wonder he was so damn alluring. And the doctors and nurses! He’d done some sort of demon trick to get them on his side. I groaned loudly, pressing my hands to my forehead. “This isn’t happening. This can’t be real!”

“You could not have been so naïve to think humans were the only thing on this earth,” Ciel reasoned, but I shook my head, wishing I could go back to not knowing at all. “I am the same Ciel as before, nothing has changed.”

“A demon, Ciel, do you not get that? You are a demon.”

“Yes, I know this,” Ciel said in frustration, digging his hand in his perfect hair. He closed his eye tightly then opened it to look at me again. “But as Grell said, I am only half demon. Whatever that horrid snipe of a child did to me, he hardly did it correctly.”

“That thing you did with the doctor and the nurses, did you do it to me? To get me to help you?”

Ciel smirked, a trace of humor in his blue iris. “Do you think that low of me now?”

“This isn’t funny.”

He nodded stiffly, but that look was still in his eye. “You’re right, it is not in the least bit funny.” He held his hand against the wall, looking around the trashed room. “I know hardly more than when we arrived, and I am no closer to finding Sebastian. That insane reaper told me nothing of importance.”

“Except that you’re a demon.”

He sighed, peering down at me through his hair. “Will you stop repeating that? My demon status has nothing to do with why we are here. Now let us find my cane and be done with this.”

I watched him start sifting through the rubble on the floor silently. Why didn’t he seem perturbed by the fact that he was a demon? He had hell burning inside of him and he didn’t even care. Surprise was clearly shown, but other than that, he didn’t have a care in the world. Why didn’t this bother him? Why did it bother me?

A flash of Grell’s conversation with Ciel came through my mind. ‘You loved a good game once upon a time.’ Was that what this was to him? Being half of a demon was part of some sick game? Anger bubbled at the pit of my stomach as I continued to watch Ciel toss papers and bits of furniture out of his way. Why couldn’t he be upset about this like I was? His entire life changed with this information, and yet all he could do was search for a cane.

“Are you going to sit there all night or are you going to help me?”

I clucked my tongue at him and slowly got up, making sure my knees wouldn’t buckle then set to work to look for his stupid cane. “So, what was Grell talking about when he asked if you were…hungry,” I asked him, curiosity getting the best of me. Ciel paused for a second, but ignored my question, kicking a pile of rubbish to the side. “Come on, Ciel, there has to be something you can tell me about all of this. Simple human, remember?”

Ciel straightened, holding his side as he looked towards the window. “Demons eat souls to survive,” he finally said, turning to look at my reaction. I stared at him, my jaw dropping.

“Souls? You eat souls?”

“I do not eat souls, Alexis, for God’s sake. Have you not been paying attention?”

“Oh, I’m pretty clear on the situation, Ciel,” I told him haughtily, shaking a finger at him. His expression darkened. “You’re a half demon who eats souls and apparently knows Grim Reapers! How does that not fuck with your head? How are you not freaking out about this? And not to mention, you’re from the past stuck in the future! What do you not comprehend about that?!”

The sound of breaking glass cut me off, my heart jumping into my throat. Ciel had thrown a book through one of the already broken windows and was now glaring at me, his eye glowing bright blue. “Must you always have questions, Alexis?” I cowered back, pressing a hand to my chest. When he stood at his full potential, he was menacingly tall, hovering over me as the energy in the room suddenly changed.

No more was he the calm collected Ciel Phantomhive, nor was he the highly annoyed Ciel I’d come to know in 24 hours. Instead, he was oozing pure rage, the aura around him drastically changing. It both frightened and excited me. The excitement came from his reaction to my questions. Finally I’d gotten him out of his monotone state and into an emotion I knew well in people. He’d finally expressed something other than frustration.

I wasn’t, however, very fond of the fact that his anger was directed towards me. “I ask because someone has to,” I shot at him, courage flooding into my veins. Ciel’s body shook with his anger, but I stood my ground. He was going to face this whether he liked it or not. “You’ve taken all of this into stride way too easily, like you were prepared for something like this! How are you not bothered by being a-“

Ciel rushed at me, his hand constricting around my neck as we flew back against the wall. I gasped for air, grabbing onto his wrist while he glared down at me, his lips curled back over his teeth. A snarl emitted deep in his chest, echoing through the room. “Do not say it,” he hissed at me, his face only an inch from my own.

“C-Ciel, I can’t b-breathe,” I choked. My lungs screamed for air as his grip on my neck tightened. I kicked my feet, staring wide eyed as the once sewn shut eyelid now began to open. This eye was just as beautiful as the other had been, but now both were changing. Red crept into the blue, taking over completely in a matter of a second. The demon was now showing, and it scared the living hell out of me.

“I thirst not for your soul,” he growled, his thumb digging against my pulse. I could feel the blood pumping in my brain, my heart racing against my chest. Why wouldn’t he let go? “The fear you possess, I feel it in my veins. With every breath you take, I breathe your fear, and I feed from it.”

“L-let go,” I wheezed, my mind slipping as he held me.

Suddenly, the blood rushed back into my head, Ciel letting go of me. I dropped to the floor in a heap, taking in large gulps of air. It burned to breathe again, but it was such a beautiful burn. My throat ached from his grasp, and I swallowed, desperate to get myself back on track and in a hurry. I fell against the wall, gripping my shirt to keep my heart from escaping through my chest.

“Alexis,” Ciel murmured near my ear, but I frantically pushed him away.

“Don’t,” I whispered shakily, unable to look at him. Ciel’s fingertips brushed my jawline, forcing me to turn my head. I faced him once more, looking into not one, but two bright blue irises now staring down at me in worry and shock.

“I-I do not know what happened,” he stuttered quietly, gently moving my face from side to side, inspecting the work he’d done on my neck. “I’ve bruised you.”

In more ways than one.

“I don’t ask forgiveness, but trust me when I say I apologize,” Ciel purred softly, eyes wide and looking into mine. I couldn’t handle these constant mood swings. One minute he’s stoic and virtually impossible to figure out, the next he’s a demon feeding off my fear, and then he’s all apologetic and irritatingly cute. It made me want to slap him.

So I did.

“Don’t you ever do that to me again,” I seethed, Ciel holding the cheek I’d slapped. “If you so much as touch me like that again, I will kill you.”

“I deserve that,” Ciel muttered.

“Damn right you do,” I said stubbornly, folding my arms over my chest. My heart was still racing, but the anger I felt had finally bubbled over. He needed to know just how much he’d crossed the line. “I don’t care what era you’re from, or dimension, or whatever the fuck, you don’t put a hand on a woman, especially me.”

Ciel silently watched me while I unloaded on him, his face yet again unreadable. “I apologized.”

“Yeah, well, apology not accepted this time.”

“What must I do for you to accept, Lady Carmichael?”

I was about to answer, then paused, giving him a confused look. What the hell had he called me? “Lady Carmichael? Are you serious?”

“Niceties do come into play at the most desperate of times,” he said in a matter of fact tone. I gaped at him, unsure of how to respond. “Until I have regained your trust, I will not touch you, I will not ask for assistance, and I will address you as a lady should be addressed.” Well. That was new. I mouthed ‘Lady Carmichael’ a couple of times before scrunching my nose. It didn’t taste right. “Is this not to your liking?”

“I’ll just accept the apology,” I mumbled, beginning to stand. Ciel remained kneeled, looking up at me. “Now let’s find that cane before I lose my mind.”

I slid my hand across my forehead in exhaustion, looking towards Ciel, who appeared to be losing his oomph to find the damned cane he so desperately wanted. “Why on earth can’t you just get a new one,” I asked him after a few seconds, waving my hand at the room we’d just torn apart. “We’ve looked up and down for it and it’s nowhere!”

“It has to be here,” he shot at me, but I folded my arms over my chest. He huffed quietly then peered through the open door. “My study. If it is not in my study then I’m afraid it would not be here. Thieving children coming in the night. Sebastian would have their heads for such a thing.”

I let that comment go, stepping over the debris on the floor to reach the hallway. “What’s the big deal with Sebastian anyways?” He brushed off the hoodie then began walking further down the hall, using the wall for support. “He’s the key to this, isn’t he?”

“The ‘big deal’, as you say, is Sebastian knows the truth.”

“He can fix you.”

Ciel paused, but only for a split second, then shook his head. “He cannot fix what is not broken.” I squinted at his figure while I followed him, unsure of where to take the conversation next. Instead, I settled for silence, shoving my hands in the jeans of my pockets as we walked. “I am surprised at your silence. Do you not have other invading questions?”

His sarcasm was not lost on me. “The last time I asked you a question, you flipped out on me,” I snapped, staying behind him to keep an eye on his every move. Despite his apology and ridiculous way to recover from his mistake, Ciel was officially on the ‘do not trust’ list.

“Your words are a puzzle to me,” he replied, gazing at me in the dim light coming through the cracks of the ceiling. “You use phrases I have never heard before.”

“Like you don’t do the same?”

“Touché, Ms. Carmichael,” Ciel said, his tone a delicate craft of seduction. I wanted so badly to punch him for the crap he’d put me through so far, but I refrained. Slapping him once was good enough for now. “Here it is.”

Ciel nudged a door open to his right and stopped, his eyes flitting around the room. “What is it,” I asked, but I didn’t have to wait for an answer. I came to his side and instantly, my jaw dropped. Inside the room looked almost pristine, save for a couple papers scattered on the floor. A large cherry wood desk sat against the far wall, Ciel’s study chair looming over it like a watch dog. The carpet on the floor was free of stains, rips, or otherwise, and the shelves surrounding the room were spotless, not a speck of dust to be seen.

I pushed through the door, trailing my fingertips over a smaller table on the wall closest to me, its wood the same as Ciel’s desk. There was no damage, no sign that the rest of the mansion was tarnished and broken. Ciel’s countless books filled the north wall, dusted and cleaned to perfection, not a single volume out of place.

“Ciel, what-“ I stopped, noticing Ciel had moved to his desk, his fingertips gliding across the top of it slowly. His head tilted back slightly with his eyes closed, but his face wasn’t relaxed. It seemed as if he was on edge, like something had spooked him. I stepped closer to him. “Ciel, what is it?”

“Someone, or something, has been here,” he whispered, finally opening his eyes.

“Obviously, I mean do you remember that Grell-“

He shook his head, looking to the window. “No, something else,” he muttered, turning quickly to face the bookcase. “This study should not be like this. If it were Grell, the place would be a mess. This was something different, not a Grim Reaper. I don’t recognize the scent.”

I sighed, covering my face with my hands. Jesus, what else could go wrong tonight? When I opened my eyes again, I saw a flash of silver behind the desk. I moved closer, leaning over the desk slightly to look over the side. There, lying on the ground near the chair, was a cane. The head was that of a silver skull, the black wood wrapped in a single blue bow underneath. What a fashion statement for his time. He’d love a good skull stick shift in a Mustang these days.

Without a word, I grabbed the cane, holding it up to the moonlight streaming through the windows. The eyes of the skull had been painted black. How ironic. The wood was smooth and expertly crafted, not a scratch nor a chip could be seen on the length. I looked up from my inspection to see Ciel watching me, his face once more emotionless. There needed to be a dictionary on Ciel Phantomhive’s facial expressions, because I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking at any point in time.

“You admire the craftsmanship.”

“It’s beautifully made,” I agreed. He reached his hand out and I set it into his palm. Ciel’s fingers slowly closed around it, as if he were savoring the moment. A glint of a smile showed on his face, but was gone too quickly for me to determine if I was crazy or not. He laid the tip down on the floor and stood proudly, taking in a deep breath as his eyes slid closed. Despite the attire, he glowed with pride and power, the cane giving him the confidence he had possessed before this disaster. It was quite the sight to behold.

“Come, we must leave at once,” he said suddenly, catching the cane under the hilt. I scurried away from the desk, his hand grazing my lower back as we exited the room, leaving the mystery behind us.

Once outside again, Ciel pulled the hood up over his head, placing the cane on the ground. Becky had the car running with the lights on, waving her hand at us through the open window. “You guys took so long,” she said while we settled. I sighed heavily, leaning my head against the back of my seat. “Did you find your cane, Ciel?”

“I did.”

“And other things,” I muttered under my breath, closing my eyes. If we didn’t find this Sebastian soon, things were going to get much, much worse far too quickly. The only lead we had was Grell, the flamboyant Grim Reaper who knew more than he was letting on. He was literally our last and only hope to get Ciel some answers and possibly back to his own time.

The thought of Ciel going back to his own time was both comforting and disarming. Though I couldn’t handle his constant mood swings, his overbearing pride and big headedness, his lack of emotion, or the fact that I’d just learned he was a demon, he was good company. Good was a loose term with some wiggle room.

“I, uh, took the liberty of calling for another room,” Becky said as she turned back onto the main highway back towards the city. I gave her a side glance, but she smiled meekly. “I don’t really feel like rooming with the guys, and there’s not enough room for the three of us in our original room. You said you were going to get one anyways.”

“Yes, but I was planning on putting it in my name.”

“It’s in your name. I pretended to be you,” Becky said bashfully. I shook my head, letting out a soft chuckle.

I heard Ciel shift from the backseat and then his head was poking between our seats. “I wish to go into the city,” he announced. I stared at him quietly, waiting for him to continue with an explanation, but he remained silent, looking back at me with his blue eyes.

“Ciel?”

His face turned to Becky. “Yes?”

“How did your eye heal so quickly?”

“He got the shit scared out of him in the manor and it magically popped open,” I said, partially joking. Becky bit her lip, looking away from Ciel’s face back to the road. I nudged Ciel back into his seat with my elbow, receiving a dirty look in return. “We’re not going into the city.”

“And why not?”

“Why do you want to go into the city anyways,” I asked him, my attention averting to the fields we were currently passing. “You’re going to freak out the locals and get us thrown in jail, and then where would we be?”

Ciel’s response was slow and calculated. “Do you expect me to stay in these clothes forever?”

Good point. “Fine,” I grumbled, putting my feet up on the dashboard. “I’ll take you shopping in the morning, but if I hear one complaint out of you about the style of clothing available, I have every right to stab you in the eye.”

“Was that a joke?”

“Hardly.”

Becky tried to hide a giggle behind her hand, but it didn’t go unnoticed by me. I pinched at her forearm, earning a quiet surprised yelp. “I can’t help it,” she whispered, glancing in her rear view mirror at the ever stoic Ciel. “You two flirt like crazy all the time.”

I choked, sputtering at her words. Coughing, I held up my hand, shaking my head adamantly. Flirting? Was that what she thought we were doing? I know Becky to have had a few romances in her life, but if she thought what we were doing was flirting, she had a lot to learn about relationships. No way in hell did I want to flirt with Ciel, and his constant griping made me stick with that.

Not to mention the blatant fact that he was half demon. I shuddered at the thought.

“You’re insane,” I whispered harshly.

She laughed quietly, again looking into her rearview mirror. I glanced at the side mirror, seeing Ciel examine his cane in silence. There was no doubt of his obvious beauty as a man. I’m sure in any normal situation, he’d have women falling at his feet, but I knew too much to be one of them. My blinders were on and I was not going to be taking them off anytime soon, not for a moment.

Ciel caught my eye in the mirror, a smirk on his lips. The memory of his blood red eyes and the hiss of his voice flashed through my mind and I bit my lip, looking away from him. My throat tingled at the memory and I instinctively touched my neck. That was another reminder as to why Ciel and I would never flirt with each other. He was dangerous, the wolf in a pretty sheep’s clothing. I would not let him catch me off guard.

Becky watched Ciel as he climbed from the car, holding his cane to the ground like a proud Lord should. “If things were different, I would have been all up on that shit,” Becky whispered to me as we walked behind him. I sighed, knowing this to be true. If only she knew the things that I did, maybe she’d change her mind.

“I’m going to check in real quick,” I told her before we passed the check in desk. Becky nodded silently, hanging back by the pillar, but Ciel followed me. I pursed my lips and tapped the bell at the desk, waiting for the girl to look up from her task on the computer. Finally she peered up at me in boredom, but her face lit up as soon as she saw Ciel at my back. “I called earlier to get another room?”

“Name,” she asked, her eyes flicking between Ciel and me.

Somehow her actions began to irk me. “Alexis Carmichael,” I muttered, turning my head to look up at Ciel. He had his eyes on the girl behind the desk, but his eyes weren’t the usual bright blue I was already accustomed to. Instead they were dull and lacking any recognition of the situation at hand. How I wish I could do that.

“Do you have ID with you?”

I pulled my wallet from my purse and handed her the ID, but she wasn’t look at it. Her eyes were glued to Ciel and his incessant staring at absolutely nothing in the room. When I cleared my throat, her cheeks tinged and she grabbed my ID, turning to the computer. It wasn’t lost on me that she was desperately trying to push her chest out little by little to get the buttons of her shirt to pop, and every now and then, her fingers would fluff up her blonde hair. Seriously?

“Oh yes, here you are,” the woman said, sending Ciel a giant grin. I raised an eyebrow at her, but she simply laid the key down on the desk with my ID, sliding it towards Ciel. “I hope you enjoy your stay.”

“We will,” I snapped, grabbing the key and Ciel’s elbow. “Come on.”

“Jesus, she was looking at you like you were sex on a stick, Ciel,” Becky snickered when we met up with her at the elevator.

“I beg your pardon,” Ciel asked, a hint of surprise in his voice.

I slapped my hand over Becky’s mouth before she could reiterate. “Nothing, let’s get upstairs,” I mumbled, shooting a look in Becky’s direction. She didn’t look ashamed by her words, only sending me a wink.

When we boarded the elevator, I finally relaxed, leaning back against the wall and closing my eyes. I could feel Ciel looking at me, but I couldn’t be bothered to open my eyes. Mentally, emotionally, and physically, I was exhausted. If this crap wasn’t over soon, I’d have to call for the Gods to send me more energy. I rubbed at my eyes slowly.

“That’s a lovely cane, Ciel,” Becky said and I opened my eyes. Ciel was staring at his cane again, his fingers tracing the outline of the skull then down to the ribbon wrapped around it. His eyes were back to that bright blue, studying every fiber of that cane from top to bottom.

“Handcrafted by the best shop in all of London,” he mused, setting the cane back down on the elevator floor. His long fingers wrapped around the skull like a snake capturing its prey. I pressed my hand to my collar bone, not wanting to clue Ciel in on what I was thinking about. He knew my fear, and any indication of the fear I’d felt when his fingers coiled around my throat would set him off. I wasn’t prepared for that.

Ciel’s eyes dropped to mine and I lowered my hand to my side quickly, but the action hadn’t gone unnoticed. His eyes flashed with recognition, but his face showed nothing. My throat ran dry and I swallowed, desperately attempting to get it back to normal. Becky stood back watching us, a coy smile lighting up her face. I knew the look well; she was devising a plan as she watched Ciel with me, and even then, I knew it would end in disaster.

“Don’t you dare try anything,” I whispered to her as the elevator doors opened. She shrugged nonchalantly, following us off the elevator to the room we shared. Once I had my bags, we began searching for my new room with Ciel.

“I think the guys are still at the pub, I might join them,” Becky said, hinting with a gesture of her hand that I should suggest going with them. I shook my head slightly, looking down at the number on the key. Luckily, the new room was down the hall, away from any prying eyes that Becky, Corey, or Jake might have. “Ciel, would you like to come with me?”

“Absolutely not,” I cried at the same time Ciel said “yes”. I pursed my lips in mild irritation, irked by the events of the night already, and now she wanted to subject him into the world of drunken modern idiots. Not that she really knew 100% what was going on in Ciel’s world, but I still didn’t want to make others feel uncomfortable by his awkwardly prideful presence. “Ciel and I have some things to talk about before we go out tomorrow, and I’d really like to get some more sleep. Wouldn’t you, Ciel?”

Without a word, Ciel nodded, and Becky huffed, leaning against the wall outside of our room. “Fine, but one of these nights, you’re going to come out with us and you’re going to have fun,” she chided, wagging a finger in my face. I rolled my eyes, unlocking the room and pushing the door open with my foot. “Do you want me to say hi to the guys for you?”

“Sure,” I said, waving Ciel into the room. He sent me a glare for ordering him inside, but I merely shrugged. A pissy Ciel was no different than he’d been since he woke up the day before. “We’ll go shopping tomorrow for Ciel and maybe after, we’ll all go for dinner. Okay?”

“I’ll come by the room around 9 then,” she said, giving me a quick hug and waving to Ciel before she disappeared. I watched her board the elevator then slunk back into the room, closing the door behind me with a heavy sigh. Ciel laid his cane on one of the beds and stared at me expectantly.

“Is there a reason you’re staring at me?” Then the conversation with Ciel about not dressing himself every day dawned on me. I rubbed my forehead with my fingers then moved towards him, unzipping the zipper quickly to push it off his shoulders. “You know eventually, you’re going to have to learn how to do this yourself. You’re not a child anymore.”

Ciel closed his eyes for a moment then reopened them, his blue orbs finding my face. “In this era, I am not a child,” he said softly as I bent down to take the shoes Corey had let him borrow off of his feet. “But I feel in my own, I am still the young man of 13.” Ew. When he put it that way, thinking of him as gorgeous now made me want to puke. I am such a pedophile. “I suppose when I’m back in that time, I’ll be that age once more, though I wish it were not true.”

“I can only imagine a childlike Ciel,” I muttered, tossing the shoes aside before I stood. “I’d wager you were probably more of a pain in the ass as a child than you are now as an adult.”

“I take offense to that.”

“As you should,” I told him, retrieving my suitcases from the small hallway. I hauled one of them on top of the bed opposite Ciel and began unzipping it. “Until tomorrow though, I suggest you start learning how to undress yourself, because I won’t be allowed into any dressing rooms and I most certainly am not going to undress or dress you for any reason.”

When I turned around, Ciel was behind me, the black of Jake’s Flogging Molly t-shirt causing his eyes to dance vividly in the dim lights of the room. “You shouldn’t hide your hair,” Ciel said in a hushed voice, reaching up to the back of my head. I held my breath, staring up at him as he pulled my hair swiftly and pain free from its band. My hair fell against my shoulders and Ciel eyed it with approval. Without warning, my stomach did that odd flippy thing and my heart pounded in my ears. “That’s better.”

I cleared my throat, backing away a step. “Uh, thanks, I think,” I stuttered, then turned away, quickly grabbing a pair of sweats and a t-shirt before disappearing into the bathroom. Once the door was closed and locked behind me, I let out an exasperated breath, dropping the clothes on the floor. Pressing my hands over my face, I slowly ran my fingers through my hair, closing my eyes.

This whole situation was driving me nuts and I’d only been part of it for a day and a half. Ciel was more than I thought he’d end up being, and a bigger handful than I ever expected. His stoic nature and offhand demeanor was intimidating, and the demon part of him was terrifying. Part of me wondered had Becky or Jake or Greg had gone into the manor, if they’d be dealing with this instead of me. The other part of me wished they were the ones dealing with it, but that was disgustingly selfish of me.

After wiping my face of any makeup and brushing my teeth, I changed into my pajamas, leaving my hair down for the sole purpose of preventing Ciel from touching me again. The thought of his touch brought a shiver down my spine, but I couldn’t tell if it was because I loathed it, or if I liked his forbidden touch. Wrinkling my nose, I shook my head, steeling myself as I exited the bathroom.

Ciel was standing in front of the mirror in front of the bed closest to the window, his shirt tossed over the chair, and his back facing me. I froze, watching him examine the now yellowing bruises on his torso. His eyes followed down to his side and his fingers feathered over the brand on his skin. There had to be a story behind that, but I wasn’t going to ask. I already knew too much for my own good.

“It’s not polite for a lady to stare,” Ciel said, not looking at me. I jumped slightly, my cheeks burning as I shoved my stuff in my suitcase.

“I wasn’t staring at anything,” I muttered embarrassingly, zipping up the suitcase to set it next to my bed. “So I thought maybe we could have breakfast with Becky and then-“ And again, when I turned, Ciel was next to me. I shifted away from him, the backs of my knees hitting the bed and forcing me to sit. “You really need to stop sneaking up on me like that. It’s not polite to sneak up on people.”

Ciel’s lips shaped into that smirk of his as he looked down at me, his black hair falling into his eyes. Without warning, his fingers touched the ends of my hair. I stayed frozen on the bed, watching his every move like a hawk. My heart raced against my chest as he leaned down, pressing his nose very lightly into my hair. Closing my eyes, I felt my stomach flutter like crazy as he took in my scent. Why the fuck did this seem so erotic and scary all at the same time?

“I thought you weren’t going to touch me,” I whispered, finally opening my eyes. Bad decision. Ciel’s face was nearer to mine now, his gorgeous blues regarded me in a way I hadn’t seen yet. They were on the verge of turning that awful blood red. The edges of his iris began to change, catching an unbelievable violet color as the blue and the red mixed together slowly.

“Your scent is simply too hard to resist,” he muttered, letting my hair drop from his fingers. I followed the strand he dropped then let my eyes go back to his. The iris of his eyes were now a double ring of blue and violet with shades of red sinking into them. It was magnificently terrifying to observe. “I have not touched your skin in any way. I believe that is within my terms, is it not?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I shut it again, swallowing hard. Pulling away from him, I scooted back on the bed, curling my legs to my chest as he watched me. “I, um, I’m tired,” I said awkwardly, moving the blankets from under me to cover my legs. Ciel stood straight, nodding his head once before retiring to his own bed. When I could see him under the covers, I began to lie down.

“Do you wish me not to touch any part of you?”

I peered over at Ciel, who was turned away from me. “As long as you don’t choke me again, I guess you can touch,” I told him. Then I thought that through. “In moderation, that is. I don’t want to get-“

And then I heard him snoring. I stared at his bare back for a moment, then turned the light off. How in God’s name could men fall asleep so damn quickly?

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grell's obsession with Sebastian has always been the highlight of Black Butler. Fight me on that.
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are appreciated!


	4. Dying to Believe

***

A loud and very annoying beeping woke me the next morning, and I groaned loudly, rolling over to slap at the offending object. Silence filled the room and for a moment, I thought everything that had happened the last few days was a dream. The sudden sound of the shower turning on made me realize thinking that way was giving false hope. This was all real. My world had turned upside down in my decision to save a stranger.

I shoved the pillow over my face and held it tightly as I let out a scream, letting my frustration out without anyone else around. I tossed the pillow aside and sat up, rubbing at my eyes. The clock I’d nearly slapped off the nightstand flashed 8 am. Sighing, I fell down on the bed to catch another half hour of sleep. Today was going to be a very, very long day.

Not five minutes later, my phone began to ring inside my purse. So much for sleeping in, I thought as I crawled off the bed, tripping over a fallen corner of the blanket. I uttered a string of curse words while I searched my purse for the too loud phone. Becky was calling, probably making sure I was out of bed. Well, because of her, I was now.

“Something tells me I dragged you out of bed.”

I set the phone on speaker and put it on the dresser. “Yeah, well, it’s been a hard few days,” I muttered sleepily, starting to fix up a mug of coffee from the holy grail of coffee makers that London hotels provided for free.

“How’s the sexy man meat?”

“Do you have to call him that,” I hissed at the phone, glancing at the bathroom. The shower had turned off not two seconds later, and I hoped to God he hadn’t heard anything. “And he’s fine, he’s just getting out of the shower.”

“Ooh, does he walk around naked,” she asked, and I grabbed the phone, turning the speaker off as I jammed the phone between my shoulder and ear.

“Will you stop with the inappropriate crap? I’m not interested in him,” I told her quietly, checking over my other shoulder to make sure Ciel wasn’t coming out of the bathroom. “I’m helping him purely because he’s like a lost puppy dog. He doesn’t know his head from his ass, so to speak.”

Becky burst out laughing, but I didn’t think it was that funny. “I hope he’s knows the differences between the two,” she giggled. I rolled my eyes, pressing the on button for the coffeemaker. “He’s just too good looking to be that stupid. Although he’s pretty old fashioned, isn’t he? He talks like he’s from a different time. I guess that would go with the fact that he thinks he’s Ciel Phantomhive, right? Either way, I-“

“Becky, is there a reason you called, or are you going to give me a whole rundown of your theories,” I asked, hearing the bathroom door open. I didn’t look in his direction, but felt the heat from the steam as he walked by. “Look, I’m going to hop in the shower and I guess we’ll meet down in the lobby for breakfast?”

“You’re such a mood killer,” she sighed, but agreed to meet downstairs at 9. I hung up the phone, pouring myself a cup of coffee quietly.

“Your friends, they don’t approve of our alliance,” Ciel said as I put creamer in my coffee. I chose to ignore his question, but he continued. “If it is too much trouble for you, you are not bound to me. You can leave if you-“

“I’m not going to,” I said, maybe a little too harshly. I cleared my throat, stirring my coffee slowly while I peered over at Ciel. He’d figured out how to dress himself, aside from the inside out t-shirt. Ciel’s visible brow cocked slightly in question and I shrugged, sitting on the edge of my bed. “What my friends think or believe has nothing to do with my actions, Ciel. I made you a promise, and I plan to keep it.”

Ciel was quiet then looked down at his hands. “You’re a very noble woman, Ms. Carmichael,” he told me, kneeling to the floor to grab his socks. “Many women, if not all, would have cowered away from me had they learned the truth of my being.”

“I cowered,” I admitted, shrugging as I sipped at my coffee. “I definitely cowered, but you haven’t killed me yet, so you get brownie points for that.”

“Brownie points,” he repeated, looking up at me in confusion. “I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re saying to me.”

“It’s like a rating system,” I began to explain, but his blank expression told me he wasn’t going to understand. I grimaced, not in the mood to explain anything this early in the morning. “Forget it.” I downed more of my coffee before standing up from the bed and unzipping my suitcase. “I’m going to take a shower and then we’ll go down for breakfast.” When Ciel nodded, I grabbed a bundle of clothes and disappeared into the bathroom.

Ciel was sitting on the windowsill when I finally came out, makeup done and hair fully dried. It had been too long since I looked and felt like a normal human being, and damn it all to hell if I didn’t at least try for our shopping trip. There was no guarantee that I would have any sort of fun, so why the hell not look my best going through hell? Ciel looked up as I shoved my pajamas into my suitcase.

“It’s not very ladylike to show so much skin,” he said after scrutinizing my appearance. I pursed my lips as I moved my suitcase to the floor. “But by the sheer mockery of the clothing I am forced to wear, I assume that the standards for women have changed as well.”

“Drastically.”

He stood, sauntering past the bed to stop in front of me. My height compared to his was about what I’d figured in my head. He was close to a foot taller than me when he stood at full height, the asshole. Drips of water fell from his still wet hair, one falling between his eyes to flow down the length of his nose and onto his top lip. His tongue darted out to catch it. It happened so quickly, I had to blink in order to register his movement.

“We are meeting Becky for breakfast then,” he stated. He bent to the side, picking up my leather jacket and draped it over my shoulders. “My lady.”

“Thanks,” I said softly, feeling his nose brush my hair again. I took a deep breath, grabbing my purse and the hotel key before we left. This was going to be interesting.

Becky was lounging in one of the large leather chairs set in the lobby, Jake and Corey at her flank. I groaned inwardly, noting the way Jake was glaring at Ciel as we approached them. “You know we don’t have to join them for breakfast,” Ciel murmured at my side, wielding his walking stick in his right hand.

“I already agreed,” I told him quietly then stopped in front of the three. “Hey guys.”

Jake threw me a look of disdain, grumbling a good morning under his breath. “Good morning,” Becky chimed brightly, too brightly for my liking. “Where do you guys want to eat? I’m starvin’ marvin.”

“Who’s Marvin?”

“Ciel, my man, how you doing,” Corey said, ignoring his question. He held his hand out for Ciel to take, but Ciel just peered down at it in confusion. I nudged Ciel’s hip gently, and while looking down at me, he took Corey’s hand. “You’re definitely looking better than the last time I saw you. Your ribs doing okay?”

Realizing where Corey was going with his questions, Ciel shook his hand quickly then rested it behind his back. “They’re doing better, thank you,” he said cordially, returning his gaze back to Corey. “I apologize for the usage of your clothing, I’ll return them to your possession by the end of the day.”

“Actually, they’re from Jake, I just lent you the shoes.”

“Thank you then, Jake,” Ciel said, acknowledging the man-child standing beside Corey. Jake only grunted, staring down at his shoes. I wanted to knock him upside the head with Ciel’s cane for his rotten behavior, but Ciel didn’t seem to notice the way Jake was acting. It didn’t seem like he was noticing a whole lot of anything while I was in his presence.

Becky was the first to break the awkward silence. “Alright, so I vote for pancakes,” she declared, hoisting her bag over her shoulder and wrapping her hand around my arm. “Let’s find a pancake house or something.”

As we walked down the streets of London, Ciel was right at my heels. I wasn’t sure if it was because he was taking everything in and was slightly put off, or if he just had a fixation with being near me. Whatever the circumstance, Becky had clearly observed how close he stood every time we stopped at a light. I could feel him right behind me, at times feeling his fingertips brush my lower back while I walked.

“You really should go for it,” Becky hinted faintly in my ear, but I sent her a look of disdain. “He’s attached at your hip. Look at him!”

Although I knew it to be true, I glanced in Ciel’s direction, sensing him rather than seeing him at my back. He stood inches away from me, but no matter what angle I stood at, he was there, looming over me protectively. I didn’t mind it, as long as there was no danger to me from him being so close. “He’s not used to all this, is all,” I reasoned, the lie getting easier and easier to tell her. “Once he gets more comfortable, he won’t need me anymore.”

“I’m so sure,” she said sarcastically, casting her eyes at Ciel.

“Stop staring at him,” I said sharply, not intending it to be rude. Her eyes moved back to me then in front of her, the conversation dead fairly quickly. I sighed, resting my hand on hers. “I’m sorry, it’s just weird. All of this is new to me and I’ve never had to take care of another adult before. Ciel is…different.”

“Exactly why you should get on that before he’s gone,” she whispered, the sparkle in her eyes returning. “I mean if you’re not going to, I might as well, right?”

“Very funny,” I muttered, although the pinprick of jealousy hit me in the gut faster than I expected. The thought of Ciel and Becky together made me want to giggle, because Ciel wouldn’t put up with Becky’s crap in the slightest. Biting my lip, I kept myself from saying anything.

Corey sidled up behind us, shoving himself between our bodies. “Whatcha two gossiping about? Clothes? Dudes? Me?”

I smirked, looking up at the redhead. “It’s good to know you don’t consider yourself a dude, Corey, I was beginning to worry,” I joked, earning a pinch to the side. I winced slightly, but laughed anyways. “We’re discussing the probability of getting you into a dress or two, see how many guys try to pick you up. You interested?”

“I shouldn’t have asked,” Corey said, his face blanching. Becky and I giggled as Corey ran ahead to Jake, who had been silent the whole walk. They stopped in front of an old diner on the corner, peering into the window. “This looks like a good place!”

“I’m starving, at this point I don’t care,” Becky said, opening the door to enter. I went to hold the door, but Ciel got there first, his hand reaching over my head.

“A lady should never open her own door,” Ciel said softly to me, and I locked eyes with him. They were full of wonder and what I could only assume as curiosity. I bit my lip, silently thanking him, and followed Becky inside, who smiled too obviously at me. Ciel paused just inside the door, his eyes maneuvering around the restaurant, watching the waitresses move from table to table.

I had to chuckle as he looked down at me in confusion. “I know it’s nothing like you remember, but trust me, you’ll get the hang of it,” I said quietly so only he could hear me. He nodded to acknowledge what I’d told him, following us to a booth in the far corner. I slid in next to Becky, Ciel after me. Corey and Jake sat across from us, chatting about the difference between soccer and football in London.

“Morning you lot, alright?”

Our eyes looked up to a substantially pierced woman with bright red hair pulled back in a ponytail, a smile glued to her face. She handed a menu to each of us, her gaze landing on Jake, Corey, and Ciel longer than necessary. “We’re good, thanks,” Corey said cheerfully, his eyes moving all too obviously over her. I had to admit that if I were a man, I’d probably be drooling too.

“Coffee for all, or we having something else?”

“Do you have any Earl Gray tea,” I asked her, catching Ciel’s eye for a moment. He smirked, hiding his face behind his menu so the others wouldn’t see.

“Oh yeah, we got loads of tea, that’s what you’ll have then?”

I pulled Ciel’s menu down to look at him. “Coffee or tea this time?”

“Tea, with a touch of cream,” he told the girl, who winked at him and wrote it down. His brow cocked up into his bangs, but he didn’t say anything to her gesture. “I assume you’re having coffee, Ms. Carmichael?”

“Ms Carmichael, what in the-“

“Don’t ask,” Becky muttered to Jake, who stared at Ciel in question.

“Yes, I’ll have coffee, and can I have like 4 extra cream on the side,” I asked the waitress, apparently named Anna.

After everyone got the rest of their orders in, I began to look at the menu. Everything on it sounded delicious, and the thought of eating made my stomach gurgle uncomfortably. My eating habits had gone to shit since we arrived in London a couple of days ago that the aspect of eating a full meal was kind of a daunting task. The inner debate of whether I wanted a huge meal or not waged on while everyone else, aside from Ciel, started talking about the kinds of food they wanted.

A brush of Ciel’s hand against my knee made me look over, and I found his blue eyes side glancing me while I read the menu. He didn’t seem the least perturbed about ordering, but when I asked him what he wanted, all he could do was shrug. “My appetite for human food has changed, I’m not quite sure how I should do this,” he muttered lowly so only I would hear him. I nodded in acknowledgement, not entirely sure on how to go about it either.

“What did you used to eat when you were a kid,” I asked him quietly, keeping my voice as low as his. Ciel put the menu up in front of him and closed his eyes. “Ciel?”

“I remember eating crumpets and scones in the mornings,” he said after a second, resting his hand over his right eye. I watched him silently, waiting for him to continue. “Every morning, Sebastian would come to my room with my tea and ask what meal I wanted. He prepared all my favorites, no matter what. My usual choice was a strawberry scone. His was oatmeal with a dash of cinnamon and apple.”

“Am I supposed to know what a crumpet is?”

It was Ciel’s turn to look astonished. “You don’t know what a crumpet is?”

My cheeks burned. “I don’t know what a crumpet is, it’s your turn to give me a vocabulary lesson,” I joked, earning a smirk in return. He set his menu down, forming a circle with his fingers.

“A crumpet is a bread, much like a muffin,” he started to explain, turning his fingers this way and that. “I wouldn’t know how on earth you’d cook one, but I do know they’re served with butter and jam. Sebastian would make mine sweet with strawberry jam and a dollop of cream on top.”

The pure excitement he showed in his voice was surprising. I don’t think I’d ever heard or seen Ciel excited before. Good to know food was a way to get him to show an emotion. Typical man. “Sounds like Sebastian would make a good life partner,” I hinted, trying to keep a smile from showing on my face. Ciel threw me a look of exasperation, but I shrugged. The way he talked about Sebastian was like he was infatuated with him. Who was I not to assume?

“If you’re assuming I would do anything with my servant, you’re wrong,” Ciel whispered, but even as he said it, I wanted to giggle. I wondered what this Sebastian looked like and if the two would actually look good as a couple. “I am interested in women, and women alone.”

“Are you sure, because-“

“Positive.” Getting him riled up was kind of funny when his anger and frustration wasn’t aimed at me. His cheeks turned a hint of pink as he began looking at his menu again. “Ah, see? They do serve crumpets here. You must try one.”

I chuckled, pointing a finger at the menu. “Look at you getting all excited over food,” I joked lightly, earning yet another dirty look from the black haired man.

“I cannot help if I’m hungry, in both sides of me,” he said very quietly, and suddenly, the look on his face changed. His irises began to get that milky violet color. The look he gave me was one of hunger and seduction, lighting a fire in the pit of my stomach. I cleared my throat, looking away from him. A dark chuckle followed and I peered over at him again to see his eyes had gone back to normal.

“You’re despicable,” I whispered softly, looking at my menu.

“If you make fun of me, I will have to return the favor,” Ciel replied simply, laying his menu on the table. “It seems only fair, does it not?”

“What are you two going on about,” Becky interrupted, tapping her finger against my menu. I dropped it a few inches to look up at them, noting how everyone’s attention had been averted to our conversation. “All this whispering and giggling is going to make some people suspicious.”

I rolled my eyes, pushing my menu on top of Ciel’s. “We’re discussing crumpets and why it’s appalling that I didn’t know what they were.” I accepted my coffee gratefully, immediately digging into the creamer as Ciel examined his cup. It was almost comical how shocked he looked at the plain tea cup.

“Is it really so difficult to acquire a nice tea set,” he muttered under his breath, and I burst out laughing, covering my mouth quickly. Ciel glared at me, but I couldn’t help it. His reactions were so entertaining. “I’m glad my tastes amuse you.”

“I’d be sorry, but I’m really not,” I told him, taking a sip of my hot coffee.

“Are we ready to order,” Anna asked, smiling brightly at us. I waved my hand at everyone else at the table to take their orders first, keeping my eye on Ciel. He was stirring his tea slowly with a spoon, eyeing it suspiciously.

“It’s not going to kill you.”

“Have you ever heard of poison,” he asked bluntly, throwing me into another fit of giggles. I shook my head, grabbing my menu to tell the waitress what I wanted, but Ciel got there first. “She will have the crumpet with butter and strawberry jam. And may we have a side of whipping cream for that as well?”

Becky nudged me a little too hard in the side, her eyes shifting between Ciel and me. “Sure thing,” Anna said, writing down the order. Her smile had faltered for a nanosecond before looking back down at Ciel. “And you’ll be having…?”

“He’ll have the pancakes with bacon and sausage,” I said quickly before he could answer. His eyes trailed down to what I pointed at on the menu, then looked up at me. I smirked, looking away from him to the waitress. “Maybe some hash on the side too please.”

“What? You two can’t order for yourselves,” Jake asked rudely. I raised my brows at him, but didn’t respond, turning to the waitress again.

“What kind of syrup would you like with those pancakes?”

“Blueberry,” I told her, and she smiled, grabbing all of our menus from us. I relaxed back in my seat, Ciel turning his body to face me. “You’re making me try the crumpets, I’m going to make you eat a manly meal. It’s only fair.”

“Touché, Ms. Carmichael, I believe we’ve reached an impasse,” he said, sipping at his tea. I nodded in agreement, stirring my coffee with my spoon. “I do have to wonder, however, if your intentions of feeding me such greasy foods is purely for your amusement or to give me an experience I’ve missed out on all these years.”

I chuckled, setting my spoon down to take a sip of my coffee again. “I guess you’ll just have to keep wondering, won’t you,” I asked, licking my lip of any coffee that had dripped. Ciel’s eyes followed the tip of my tongue then back up to my eyes.

“God will you two include us in some of your conversations,” Becky interjected, tossing her hands up. I looked at her, folding my legs under the table. “You’ve been eyeballing each other since we left the hotel and having your own little chats while we’re over here wondering what you’re saying.”

Corey laughed, settling into his seat. “Jeez, Beck, one would think you’re jealous of the attention they give each other.”

“Maybe I am, it’s not like I get that kind of attention from you two goons,” she shot at Corey playfully.

Ciel sat up a little straighter. “I do apologize.”

Becky smiled, looking triumphant at receiving an apology from Ciel. “Apology accepted,” she said, starting to unravel her silverware. “So Ciel, we hardly know anything about you. Care to elaborate on where you come from? Maybe if you go to school or something?”

I glanced at Ciel. He looked at a loss of how to respond. “I-I do not think this is an appropriate conversation to have over breakfast,” he said finally, shifting a little in his seat. His blue eyes found mine, but I wasn’t exactly sure how to get the conversation elsewhere. It was true that they didn’t know about him, but what was he going to say? I’m from the past, I’ve been cursed, and I’m half demon? Yeah, that’ll go over well.

“No, we should know,” Jake piped up, setting his elbow on the table. Ciel’s eyes drifted to Jake, who was now full on glaring at Ciel. “You’ve entered our little gang of friends, and we don’t know shit about you, or your life. And quite frankly, I don’t think you getting all googly eyed over Alex is appropriate either.”

“Jake, don’t be rude.”

Ciel leveled his gaze with Jake, and I swear if there was a testosterone meter by their heads, both would have burst by now. “It’s alright, Ms. Carmichael,” he said finally, picking up his tea and stirring it again with his spoon, closing his eyes. “It’s just for others to be curious about me, I have indeed pushed my way into your ‘gang’, as Jake puts it. Curiosity is merely natural.” Ciel opened his eyes again and stared directly at Jake. “I do warn you, however, that curiosity has a way of ending in death, much like curiosity killed the cat, am I right?”

Well, that took a turn for the worst. Jake recoiled reluctantly, clearing his throat as he ran a hand through his hair. “You know, I’m good on knowing more about you,” Jake said awkwardly, his face going bright red.

“Out,” I demanded, looking at Ciel. Ciel looked up at me in surprise, setting his tea down. “Outside, now.” Ciel wordlessly stood up, gripping his walking stick in his hand as I looked at Becky. “I’ll be right back.”

“Yeah, okay,” she whispered, blinking at Ciel and Jake. I’m sure she was wondering what had just happened.

Once we got outside, I pressed the bridge of my nose gently between my fingers. “Okay, seriously, Ciel, what the hell was that about? That was completely uncalled for.”

“Was it, Ms. Carmichael?” I sighed, looking up at him. His face was again emotionless, save for the smirk on his lips. “I’m sure you were thinking, as was I, of the fact that the truth would unfortunately make the two of us look like blithering idiots? A little common threat never hurt anyone. Surely it didn’t hurt your dear friend.”

“That’s not the point.”

“You’re right, of course, that isn’t the point,” he sighed, bowing his head slightly. “I merely frightened him for the fun of it, and for my own amusement.”

His words made me pause and I squinted at him, shaking my head. “You can’t do that to people, Ciel, it’s not how this works,” I told him, but Ciel didn’t seem to be listening. His attention had moved to something else, looking up at one of the buildings. I looked to where his eyes had gone, but I couldn’t see anything. “What are you looking at?”

“We’re being watched,” he said softly, opening the door to the diner. “Please, come inside.”

I stared at him and followed his lead, but not without giving him another warning. “Do it again and you’ll definitely be stuck in that hotel room and those clothes,” I whispered to him as I passed. I could almost hear his answering smirk behind me.

Ciel had been right, of course. I devoured the crumpets like crazy, while he sat and moved his food around the plate until I chastised him for not eating. He reluctantly started eating, then settled in like he hadn’t eaten in years, which I’m sure he hadn’t. I knew it wouldn’t help the other hunger he felt, but there was nothing I could do about that, and nothing I wanted to do about it.

Jake remained silent for the rest of breakfast, keeping to himself while the four of us chatted about the day ahead. Corey and Jake were planning on checking out a few of the ‘football’ fields and seeing if there was a game going while Becky, Ciel, and I were going to shop. Ciel seemed mildly interested in the aspect of sports, but I dismissed his interest. He was going to complain until he got new clothes, and even then, he’d probably complain about the style.

After we paid for breakfast, we parted ways with the guys, heading towards the strip mall we’d questioned Anna the waitress about. Ciel, as per usual, followed close behind me while we walked, Becky talking excitedly about finding a new dress to go out in. I nodded and replied in kind, mostly attempting not to focus on the exchange Ciel and I had in the diner. It was strange how we interacted together, something new and surprisingly fun. I wasn’t sure he felt the same, but like Grell had said, Ciel did love a good game.

“Oh, look in here!”

Becky pointed to a store a few blocks down from the diner as we passed, pulling on my arm to get me to follow her. Ciel grimaced at the clothes in the windows. The store was full of brightly colored clothes, neon pinks and yellows and greens, definitely something Becky was into. “This place,” Ciel grumbled uncertainly. “It’s so bright.”

“Everything in here is so cute,” Becky gushed, sifting through a clothing rack. I stood next to Ciel, who looked around for any sort of escape. “You two can go look around if you’d like. You know how I get when I shop, Ally.”

“I think we’ll do that,” I said, giving her a quick hug and pushing Ciel out of the store. He took a deep breath, rubbing his fingertips over his forehead lightly. “Sorry about that.”

“I’d rather be blind than go in there again,” Ciel admitted. I chuckled, absentmindedly gripping his elbow as we began walking down the street. Ciel eyed my hand but stayed quiet, switching his the cane into his other hand. If someone really was watching us, I wanted to be as close to Ciel as possible.

When we passed another block, I looked up at Ciel, who was watching his surroundings like a hawk. “What kind of shop would you like to go into,” I asked him finally, pulling my hair to the side of my neck.

“Anything that isn’t full of pink.”

I laughed, pulling him into the shop next to us. The majority of the clothes in this shop were solid black, greys, and blues, something Ciel obviously took to better than anything else. I let him loose, standing back as he began to look through the racks. At one point, his eyes found me again and he shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t condone the fashion of your time,” he said, holding up a black and grey long sleeve t-shirt. “It’s so improper to pull a garment over your head like a woman.”

“I take offense to that,” I smirked, grabbing the shirt from him to hold it against his torso. “Jesus, Ciel, you grabbed the biggest one off the rack!”

“I don’t know what size I wear,” he argued, his bottom lip protruding from under his upper lip. I rolled my eyes, grabbing for a smaller size and holding it up against his torso again. “I don’t want to look like a woman.”

“You’re not going to,” I told him, setting the shirt over my arm. “Just pick out what you like, or what you think you might like, and give it to me. We’ll get a fitting room started for you.”

Ciel looked around, then looked back down at me. “Is there not a tailor here?”

I slapped my forehead gently and shook my head. This was going to be a mess. “No, you have to go into a room by yourself and try on clothes…by yourself,” I explained, and he grimaced, staring down at the clothes he was already wearing. Something told me the aspect of having to do something himself was still a little intimidating, possibly embarrassing.

“I suppose that will do,” he said in a monotone voice, going back to looking through the racks. I followed him throughout the store, grabbing things from his hands and giving him pointers on what would look good and what wouldn’t. Eventually, I finally pushed him into a fitting room, receiving odd looks from the employee who’d unlocked the door for him.

“How’s it going,” I called to him after a few minutes, tapping my foot gently on the floor. The door opened to reveal Ciel and my jaw dropped.

“I look absolutely ridiculous,” he mumbled, but I couldn’t respond. He’d dressed himself in a pair of straight leg black jeans, a ribbed black v-neck long sleeved sweater, and a dark grey jean vest, complete with a black beanie. I looked him up and down, a smile coming to my face as he watched my reaction. “You cannot be serious.”

“You look good,” I told him, turning him towards the mirror. 

Ciel’s face wrinkled as he pulled the pants up a little further on his hips. “I can’t believe this is the fashion for men these days,” Ciel complained, moving his bangs from his eyes. It didn’t help though, they just fell right back into his face. “How can a man even think about wearing this god awful fabric on his legs? Do they not need to breathe? It’s like a corset for men!”

I burst out laughing, grabbing onto the wall for support while Ciel looked on with a grimace. “I-I’m sorry,” I laughed, fanning my face with my hands as tears pooled at my eyes. “Do you even know what a corset feels like?”

His cheeks tinged and he looked down at the pants again. “Yes in fact I do, but I will not explain the circumstances as to why. Why is this so funny?”

“I can’t help it, Ciel, you’re just so against everything,” I said. I leaned against the wall next to the mirror, looking him over. “I honestly think you look really good. Whatever you wore back in your time has nothing on what you look like right now.”

“You are complimenting me.”

It wasn’t a question.

“I am complimenting you, but don’t get used to it,” I told him pointedly, but that smirk returned to his face. My stomach lit up with butterflies, warmth filling my veins. “Now hurry up, you still have more to try on.”

Ciel disappeared back into the fitting room without another word, leaving me to my thoughts. I pressed my hand against my stomach to calm down the little bastards. There was no way I wanted to feel that sort of thing with Ciel, especially knowing what he was and the dangers that came with it. I knew he wanted to feed on me, I knew he wanted to stay close, but I didn’t know how much shit that would put me in.

Plus there was still the mystery of his missing butler, and the stupid games that Grell had mentioned. Ciel and I had yet to discuss any of this. I personally thought he was avoiding it, and I knew that I was definitely avoiding bringing it up. Talking about it made it real, and I was so not in the mindset yet to deal with the reality of our situation. For now, I would sit back and let Ciel get used to living in this time.

There was the issue of these stupid butterflies showing up every time Ciel even looked at me, or smirked in my direction. The look he gave me in the restaurant was still fresh in my mind, and it lit my entire body on fire. I wanted it, but I hated it all at the same time. Part of me knew it was the demon side of him that could make me do this, but it was also Ciel himself. He may have been a pain in the ass and he may have been the most emotionless person I knew, but it was somewhat…attractive.

And then Ciel walked out of the fitting room, and I was hit with another round of butterflies.

Becky joined us in the next store, her arms full of bags as well as mine, Ciel having given in to buying a few outfits after I’d told him how good he looked. He soaked up my compliments like a sponge, throwing smirks in my direction like crazy. I swear he knew the effect they had on me and he used it to get his way, or more compliments. He was sadistic and cute all at the same time. I wanted to punch him for it.

“I have to pee,” Becky whined after an hour of more shopping. I sighed, hauling the heavy bags up further on my forearms as Ciel wrapped a black scarf around his neck. “Ciel, will you accompany me?”

“I don’t think…”

“Please,” Becky begged, bouncing as we walked by the food court near the shopping areas. I gestured for Ciel to carry on, letting him know with my eyes that I would be okay for a few minutes. When he nodded at Becky, she shrieked, grabbing his hand and dragging him off towards the bathrooms. As they disappeared, I began walking further towards the food court.

“Well, aren’t you a precious little tart,” I heard a seductive voice say from behind me. I ignored it, setting the numerous bags of clothes on one of the tables next to me. “It’s not kind to ignore the courting from a man to a lady such as yourself, you know.”

“Look you slimy prick, you don’t-“ I stopped in midsentence, turning to see a too gorgeous blonde haired man standing behind me. Blue eyes that could rival even Ciel’s stood out from behind his carefully constructed messy blonde locks, a smirk playing on his pale pink lips. A raven haired man stood behind him, dressed in a three piece suit, his jacket slung carefully over his arm. Gold eyes watched my every move from behind a pair of spectacles, as if he were staring directly into my soul.

The blonde haired man chuckled, sweeping his bangs from his eyes with a black gloved hand. He was dressed oddly in a pair of black skinny jeans, a green vest over a gray button up, and a purple frock coat. It was attractive in every way possible, especially with his slim figure and tall stature. “Now, now, is that any way to speak to someone you hardly know,” the man asked slyly, resting his hand on the railing next to us.

“Is it necessary to call me a tart,” I shot back, folding my arms over my chest. The man gave another laugh, furthering my irritation towards him. He may have been very good looking, but that didn’t give him the right to act like an ass.

“I mean no offense,” the man said softly, looking down at the floor before peering back at me. His blue eyes sparked dangerously, piercing into me like a hot poker. “I was simply stating how elegantly beautiful you are, nothing more, nothing less.” His eyelashes fluttered a few times, and I froze, my brain frying completely with his gaze. “What do you say? Will you accept my apology?”

After a second of staring at him, I shook myself from my staring and cleared my throat. “I-I guess,” I stuttered, reaching behind me to start grabbing the bags. “I have to, uh, I have to go. My friends are waiting for me.”

“Are you sure you must go,” he asked, taking a step closer to me. My throat ran dry as I looked up at him, unable to look away from his baby blues. Why the hell did he have this effect on me? This shouldn’t be happening. I moved again to step away from him, but he was there once more, this time with his fingers grazing under my chin. His fingers, though with a light touch, were firm at my jaw, forcing me to look into his eyes. “Surely you could stay a little longer.”

Suddenly, I was pushed aside, a body coming between the blonde haired man and myself. Ciel had his hands on my arms, holding me behind him as he stood defensively, glaring at the man in front of him. The blonde haired man stepped back, his blue eyes dancing gleefully at the newcomer.

“Alois Trancy,” Ciel growled, his hands constricting around my arms almost painfully.

“Ah, Ciel Phantomhive, I was beginning to wonder where you’d run off to,” Alois smirked, examining his glove as if he were bored with us already. “How are you enjoying your time in modern London? Obviously you’ve gone off and found yourself a harlot to play with.”

I began to open my mouth to respond, but Ciel set his hand over my mouth, quieting me immediately. His blue eyes rested on mine and I knew to stay quiet. This wasn’t good. “You think this is a game,” Ciel finally asked, turning his attention back to Alois and the dark haired man. “If you thought for one second this little ploy of yours would throw me off your scent, you were clearly mistaken.”

“You are fond of games, Ciel, are you not,” Alois asked breezily, dropping his hand to focus back on the conversation at hand. “I thought this game of cat and mouse would be fun to you. It’s a shame the tables have turned on you this time. Now you are the mouse, and I am the cat.”

“Enough of this childish act. I should have killed you when I had the chance,” Ciel snarled ferociously, the sound ripping through his chest in a growl. Alois seemed unabashed by Ciel’s anger, touching the man’s shoulder beside him.

“Now, Ciel, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we,” Alois said playfully, his eyes darting to me. “I don’t want to have to set Claude on the lady, what a shame that would be. You know as well as I do that when a demon has its orders, they always finish the job.”

I refrained from groaning, realizing this was the man that had ruined everything for Ciel. More demons, more drama, more shit to make this complicated. “I will kill you,” Ciel warned, beginning to take a step towards Alois, but I gripped at his arm. He stopped, looking down at me again.

“Don’t,” I whispered, looking around at the attention we’d already received. A small crowd had begun to gather to watch the exchange. Fucking brown nosers. “We should go, Ciel.”

“Ciel Phantomhive, taking orders from a woman,” Alois announced, a grin lighting up his face. “I never thought I’d see the day that a Phantomhive would take orders from anyone, much less a woman.”

“I take orders from no one,” Ciel hissed, but Alois ignored him, stepping forward quickly and grabbing my arm. There was nothing Ciel could do without causing a bigger scene. Alois pulled me to him, lifting my hand slightly to look down at me, his blue eyes glinting with malice and joy. My fear and Ciel’s reaction to me was giving him a sick and twisted pleasure.

“Let go of me,” I said bravely, attempting to move my hand from his grip. His hand tightened around my wrist, and I stopped, pain shooting through my arm down to my chest. I glared up at him, tensing my jaw.

Alois smiled, his gloved fingertips gliding over my jawline slowly before his eyes moved to Ciel, who was now so tense with anger, I thought he’d burst. “Oh, this one is fun, Ciel,” Alois said softly, turning his eyes back to me. “I can see why you’d want her all to yourself. Such a delicate little flower, she is.” His nose pressed into my hair and I could feel him breathe in, just as Ciel had done that morning. “She smells positively divine.”

“Claude, I would expect you to keep your master in line around a lady, as any good butler would do.” Alois sighed heavily, dropping his hand from my face as he turned to the man approaching us. “Manners are key, after all, don’t you agree?”

“S-Sebastian,” Ciel said in surprise and anger, staring wide eyed at the man. What was it with all these guys and being good looking? Sebastian stood gracefully in a suit exactly like Claude’s, his coattails grazing the backs of his legs as he walked. A double chain went from one of the buttons on his jacket into his pocket. His eyes were blood red, peering at Alois and Claude with disdain under a mess of black hair that hung in his eyes, just as Ciel’s did.

“I apologize, young master, for keeping you waiting,” Sebastian said, placing his white gloved hand over his heart and bowing slightly. “It will not happen again, I assure you.”

“See to it that it doesn’t,” Ciel said, his voice now calm and collected. I once again tried to move my hand from Alois’ grip, but he smiled, squeezing my wrist and catching my jaw in his other hand. Claude moved in front of us, having donned his suit jacket, and rested his arms at his sides, keeping Ciel and Sebastian from getting near. “Let her go, Trancy, this is between us.”

Alois chuckled darkly, running a single fingertip from my jaw down my throat slowly. “I’m afraid that’s where you’re wrong, Ciel,” Alois said with a grin, his blue eyes staring directly into mine. I gulped, unable to look away from him. “The game has become sweeter, don’t you see? You have something else I want, and I will have it.”

“Don’t touch me,” I said suddenly, shoving at Alois as hard as I could. The push was enough to shock Alois into letting me go. Quickly, I shuffled past Claude and into Ciel’s arms, my heart in my throat.

“My, my, I can see why you appeal to him,” Alois said with a laugh, brushing off his vest.

Sebastian stepped in front of us, shielding us from Alois and Claude. “I’m afraid we must be on our way,” he announced, bowing his upper body to Alois. “There is much work to be done with my master.”

“Indeed there is,” Alois agreed, his gaze piercing into me again. “Come Claude, we have our own work to get on with.”

“Yes, your highness,” Claude said, and with that, they were gone. I took a deep breath, exhaling quickly as Ciel gently grasped my chin and made me look up at him. His blue eyes were filled with concern and anger, two things I never thought I’d see on his face.

“Are you alright,” he whispered, very lightly turning my head this way and that, examining me. 

“Define alright,” I muttered back, holding my wrist as it throbbed painfully. “That was Alois? The one who did this to you?”

Ciel’s eyes darkened at my question, his fingers replacing mine around my wrist as he rubbed it slowly with his thumb. “A good question, better answered by Sebastian,” he said, glaring at the butler, who’d turned to bow at us. “Where the hell were you? As my butler, you should know my whereabouts at all times. What took you so long?”

“I deeply apologize, master, the curse Earl Trancy placed upon you somehow sent me on a rather misleading trail,” Sebastian said, setting his eyes on me. “I didn’t, however, wager you’d find another soul to help you while I searched. He is very fortunate to have you, my lady.”

“He doesn’t have me,” I said quickly, looking between Sebastian and Ciel. Would Ciel leave now that Sebastian was back? “And neither does Alois. I am my own.”

Sebastian smiled in response, but Ciel looked down at me, the soothing circles his thumb had been making on my wrist ceasing with my words. “You wish for me to leave,” he asked, his jaw tensing. I sighed, shaking my head slowly. What the hell did I want? All of this was so confusing. “I didn’t think you’d want to be rid of me so quickly. Am I honestly that much of a burden to you?”

“Ciel, I didn’t mean it that way.” I touched the back of his hand lightly. His eyes cast down to my touch, but didn’t move back to my face. “You’re not a burden to me. I mean at first you may have been. Now, I’m just so confused. This is overwhelming to take in. First you’re hurt and I save you, then you’re claiming to be a missing Ciel Phantomhive, then I find out you really ARE Ciel Phantomhive, and all this Grim Reaper and demon stuff and now Alois-”

“I didn’t ask for this to happen to me.”

I looked at Sebastian for help, but he was silent, watching our interaction with the same expressionless look that Ciel had perfected over his time. “I’m not saying you asked for anything to happen, Ciel,” I explained, dropping my hands from his. “And I’m not saying I want you to leave. I said I would help you, and I still plan to, but-“

“Absolutely not,” Ciel interrupted, stepping away from me. I gaped at him, but he dug the tip of his cane into the ground as if to say ‘that’s final’. “Trancy has come into contact with you, and if I know that slimy twit at all, he’ll be coming for you at any given moment. I cannot risk your safety as well as mine.”

“My safety is my own problem and-“

“I said no,” Ciel growled, his eyes flashing a warning at me, but I stood my ground. I’ve had too many men lately telling me what I can and cannot do, or what they want to do with me.

I stepped up to him, his eyes going wide for a moment then glared down at me, his lips forming into a hard line. “Ciel Phantomhive, I’m not going to be ordered around like your butler,” I said firmly, clenching my fists. My wrist screamed in pain, but I bit it back, glaring right back at Ciel. “I told you I was going to help you, and I am going to do so whether you like it or not. Do not think of me as some petty little girl who can’t handle herself, because I promise you I can. I will not sit back and let you deal with this on your own.”

Ciel’s lip curled back in anger, the familiar red beginning to make its way through the blue of his eyes. “I cannot allow you to carry on any further,” Ciel said viciously, venom biting at his every word. “This is my battle, and mine alone.”

“So first you ask me if I want you to leave, and now you’re telling me I can’t help you. How does that make any sense, Ciel,” I shot at him, but he growled in warning, his eyes now that scary shade of purple. “I’m going to do this, and you’re not going to stop me.”

“Are you really going to just stand there, Sebastian?”

I heard Sebastian chuckle behind me. “On the contrary, sir, it is a delight to watch a lady stand her ground in earnest to help a Phantomhive,” he said, and Ciel shot him a glare over my head before turning back to me.

“I want to help you, Ciel, I’ve been through enough the past couple of days to know if I want to. Alois or not, you don’t know this world like I do, and I’m willing to bet Sebastian doesn’t either. If nothing else, I can help you until you can get to your own time and back to where you belong. Then you won’t have to put up with me any longer.”

“Ciel, why did you leave me like that, I could have-“

Becky froze, staring at us with wide eyes. I stepped back from Ciel, biting my lip as Sebastian stepped forward. “I apologize, milady, it was my fault the young master pulled away in such a hurry,” Sebastian whispered seductively, bowing down to Becky, who blinked at him in surprise. “You mustn’t be angry with him, or your friend.”

“I, um, yeah, sure,” she stuttered, her face becoming dazed. I rolled my eyes. It figures Sebastian would be a demon like Ciel. Helpful for now, but I’d have to watch my step. “Who are you?”

“Never mind that now,” Ciel said with a wave of his hand. “We must get back to the hotel immediately.” Ciel then looked at me fiercely. “This conversation is not over.”

Fabulous.

“Sebastian, see to it that Becky gets back to her room safely,” Ciel ordered as we walked briskly towards the hotel. Ciel had immediately rushed us off in the opposite direction of Alois and Claude, all the while muttering savage curse words under his breath. I walked next to him, although it felt more like running with how swiftly we moved, his hand never moving away from my back.

“And where will you be, my lord,” Sebastian asked softly, eyeing Ciel carefully.

“I will summon you when I need you, until then keep her safe,” Ciel responded. Sebastian nodded once in response.

“Of course, my lord. Come, my young mistress,” Sebastian cooed to the still dazed Becky. She willingly let him pick her up and then they were gone, vanishing without a trace. I gawked at the spot they had just been standing before looking up at Ciel. His face was written in anger, a look I recognized well.

As soon as the hotel door closed, Ciel drew the curtains closed and fell against the wall, pressing his fingertips against his temple. “I hate running,” he said bitterly without my having to ask. I huffed, sitting on the edge of my bed and ran my fingers through my hair. “I would not have run were you not with me.”

“So you’re blaming that on me?”

“I place blame on no one,” Ciel said a bit calmer, glancing towards me. He pulled the beanie from his head and tossed it onto the table next to him, standing again. “Trancy knew of our location, he brought us there for a reason.”

“Are you saying Alois planned all of this?”

Ciel raised his eyes to me. “I can only assume that’s how he knew where I’ve been,” he said evenly, but then shook his head. “Alois knew you accompanied me here, he must have been watching. The presence I felt though, I didn’t sense it on him, nor Claude. Whomever was watching us has yet to show himself.”

“And Sebastian? Where does he fit in all of this?”

Ciel pressed a hand over his right eye, looking down at the floor then glared at the wall, pulling his hand away. I gasped at the sudden purple, a pentagram shining through the vibrant color. “Sebastian, I order you to answer my questions truthfully, come to me now,” Ciel said loudly and authoritatively, his voice biting. A knock at the window caused me to jump and Ciel moved to the curtains, drawing them back to see Sebastian smiling as he hung against the outside of the window.

“What the hell,” I muttered as Ciel shoved the window open.

“Quit playing games and get in here,” Ciel ordered, and Sebastian slunk inside, pulling the door closed behind him. “Is Becky safe?”

“I made quite sure she would be, young master,” Sebastian said, bowing to Ciel with his hand over his chest. Sebastian’s eyes then went wide as he took in the room then smiled at Ciel. “My lord, I’m surprised you’ve managed to live in such a stately room. Look at this mess.”

Ciel growled, glaring at Sebastian. “Ignore the room, Sebastian, I want answers,” he told him, sitting on the window sill. “Now, how did you find us?”

With another look around the room, Sebastian then turned to Ciel again. “It took a great deal of bartering with witnesses throughout the years, I’m afraid,” he began, pinching his nose between his gloved fingers. “It wasn’t until I was able to get to this year that I began coming up with a fair amount of leads. I daresay the manor has become quite the legend as you did yourself, my lord.”

“Wait, you time traveled,” I interrupted, raising my brows. Sebastian shot me a smile.

“If I could not travel through time to seek my master, well then, what kind of a butler would I be?”

“Enough boasting and carry on,” Ciel demanded, folding his arms over his chest.

“I had some help along the way, thanks to Grell,” Sebastian continued, a grimace on his face as the name escaped him. The smirk that Ciel answered with was cruel, but delighted. I can only imagine what Sebastian had to go through with the Reaper. “I only managed to get him to talk after promising horrible unspeakable things, but when he finally obliged, he mentioned a young lady in your presence.” At his words, his red eyes flitted to me then back to Ciel. “I caught the scent when I examined the manor, and went from there.”

Ciel was silent for a moment then nodded. “What of Trancy and Claude? What have you found out about their latest move?”

“I have searched high and low for their plan, my lord, but I haven’t found anything yet,” Sebastian told him, his face going stone cold. “The curse they set upon you has stained your soul, rotted you from the inside out. I suppose it has something to do with revenge, but what there is to avenge, I don’t know.”

“Then what do you know?”

Sebastian smirked, setting his eyes on Ciel with a heated gaze. “I can only hope that my master will seek the revenge befitting of the situation, my lord. After all, our contract remains as long as there is even a minute amount of soul left in you. I am with you until the very end.”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait,” I said, waving my hands in front of me. Both sets of eyes looked at me and I stared right back. “This cannot be happening! None of this is actually happening!”

I knew it was, but my brain didn’t want anything to do with it. “Is it finally bringing you to your senses then,” Ciel asked me, his voice cold as ice. “You will leave me to deal with this on my own and go back to where you came from before you crossed my path?”

Pressing my hand against my forehead, I shook my head. Ciel looked shocked for a second. “I happen to remember that you’re the one that crossed MY path, in pain,” I reminded him, but he didn’t answer. I pointed over to Sebastian. “Had it not been for me, he would still be looking for you, am I right?” Sebastian merely smiled. Helpful. “But demons? Grim Reapers? Curses? I have to be nuts to believe any of this!”

“Perhaps you’re right,” Ciel said, unfolding himself from the sill and standing at full height. “You are indeed crazy to believe it, but you’ve been living it for two days now, haven’t you? Is two days not enough to believe that the world you thought you knew is the world where ghost stories and legends are real? Do you believe in God?”

“You have got to be kidding,” I said, staring at Ciel as I stood. “No, I don’t believe in God, but if I did, I’d have half a mind to ask him why the hell all of this is happening. I’m sure he’d have more answers than your butler!”

“Actually, despite popular belief, He does exist,” Sebastian interjected, causing me to groan. “You see where there is darkness, there is also a light. That doesn’t mean anyone, or anything, knows more than I. It simply means there are more pawns being lined up for this game.”

I shook my head, running my fingers through my hair. “You people and games, I don’t get it.”

“In any case, Ms. Carmichael, I think it best for you to leave this to me,” Ciel said, but I sighed.

“You know that’s not going to do anything.”

“Why must women be so stubborn,” Ciel asked to no one in particular. He fixed his gaze on me and glared, hard. “You know I could just order you out of here? I could have Sebastian wipe your memory and let him take you back to where you belong?”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Are you so sure?”

“If you were going to do that, you would have done it by now,” I told him, not entirely 100% on that. “You’ve had your chances, you even have it now. But you haven’t, and I doubt you’re going to, because you know I could be of use.”

Ciel and Sebastian both raised eyebrows at me. As much as they both hated to admit it, I’d already come to the conclusion that, now that Alois was in the picture and he’d seen me, I could be used for something. If Ciel wanted revenge so badly, I would use myself as bait in order to help. Although losing my life was not something I wanted to do for someone I hardly knew, I knew it was the right thing.

“You know, young master, Ms. Carmichael has a point,” Sebastian said after mulling it over. Ciel growled at him, but Sebastian ignored it. “It seems Trancy wants something of yours, why not let him have it?”

“Will you please stop referring to me as ‘his’,” I mumbled irritably.

Sebastian paid no mind to me. “I won’t,” Ciel fought, turning away from Sebastian. “Because of that git and his spider butler, I’ve lost too much already. I will not have innocent lives destroyed fighting my battles.”

“Have you gone soft, my lord?”

Ciel turned and a loud clap broke my stare. Sebastian touched the spot on his cheek that Ciel had just slapped, but said nothing. “Softness is not in my nature,” Ciel hissed angrily, and I looked down, hoping that awful red wouldn’t ruin his pretty blues. “I am still the head of the Phantomhives and I will not have my family’s name tarnished with such words and allegations. Do you understand me, Sebastian?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“You’re not going to hit me too, are you,” I asked him. Ciel blinked, shocked with my question, but shook his head.

“Though the action may seem appealing to knock some sense into you, I will not touch you again,” Ciel answered, the calm in his eyes returning. “I swore never to touch you in such a manner, and I stand by what I said. Sebastian?”

“Young master.”

“Find that awful Reaper and search out the city for Alois and his butler,” Ciel said, his eyes never leaving mine. Sebastian looked at Ciel with a brow raised. “Once you’ve found them, report back to me. I will not make my move until I know their position. Do you understand what I ask?”

Sebastian laid his hand over his heart and bowed. “Certainly, young master,” Sebastian said softly, and suddenly, he was gone, leaving Ciel and me to stare at each other.

I was the first to speak again. “You know, I just don’t get it,” I said, standing up from the bed to pace. “First you say you don’t want to me to go, then you assume I want to be rid of you, and now you’re all about me leaving. Why are you changing your mind all of a sudden? It can’t just be about my safety.”

Ciel didn’t answer at first, but sighed finally, shaking his head. “It’s been a long time, Ms. Carmichael, that I cared for anything,” he said, the honesty shocking me to the core. I paused my pacing and looked up at him. “With your help, I regained my full strength, which I honestly don’t believe I would have done had I stayed in the manor in the state I was in. If I can, I want to keep the person responsible for that as safe as possible.” 

His eyes moved to my face and I froze, an explosion of butterflies bursting in my stomach. The way his hair fell over his forehead mixed perfectly with his eyes, his face one of deep concern. I took a deep breath, pressing my hand to my stomach as I turned away from him. My get a grip senses really needed to kick in and soon. This was getting ridiculous.

“A woman of many words and opinions, yet you have none now,” Ciel said when I didn’t answer him. “Have I said something to offend you?”

“No, it’s just-“

I looked up and found Ciel near me again, his eyes trained on me. Stepping away quickly, I began busying myself by making coffee, only to feel Ciel at my back. “Does my honesty frighten you,” he asked quietly. I swear I could feel his fingertips brushing through the ends of my hair at my back, but I couldn’t really tell.

“Not so much your honesty.”

And then I felt it. Ciel’s fingers slid from the back of my neck to my throat, his tips pressing very lightly against my pulse. I froze, staring down at my shaking hands. “Tell me to stop,” he whispered against my ear, but I couldn’t speak. My throat ran dry as his fingers stroked my neck, his breath ghosting along the shell of my ear. “It’s not fear I smell upon you unlike the last time I had my hand around your neck. What makes this so different?”

I couldn’t answer, much less breathe. Ciel’s fingers tipped my head back and without a word, his nose was pressed to my skin, breathing in my scent. My heart pounded loudly against my chest, my eyes automatically closing. Though I knew what he was doing, it didn’t stop my insides from practically imploding on themselves.

Ciel suddenly hissed against my skin, causing goose bumps to appear on my arms and a shiver to run up my spine. “You smell of that disgusting creature,” he whispered harshly. Without warning, his tongue darted out, running the tip of it along the vein in my neck. I stopped breathing altogether, and when I looked into the mirror in front of us, his eyes were a bright red, shining in the dim light of the room.

“D-don’t feed on me,” I breathed, but Ciel smirked, pressing his face into my neck.

“There is no fear to feed on,” he answered simply, and I knew from the bubbles in the pit of my stomach that he was absolutely right. This was something entirely different, and with that realization, I swiftly turned in his arms, staring up at him wide eyed. “I must admit, however, I don’t believe I’ve come across this feeling before. It’s strange, enticing.”

I bit my lip, starting to move away from him, but his fingers tightened around my neck slightly to hold me in place. “Ciel, don’t,” I whispered, watching the red swim in his eyes.

“You truly wish me to stop,” Ciel asked quietly, resting his thumb on my jawline to tilt my head back again. No, no I don’t, I thought to myself. “I didn’t think so.”

“Damn it,” I mumbled, completely forgetting about that piece of information.

I gasped as I felt something sharp touch my neck, and when something wet followed, I realized he’d grazed his teeth against my skin. A shiver ran through my body and I gripped onto the table to keep myself from moving. This was erotic and so wrong all at the same time, but I didn’t want it to stop.

Ciel’s hand moved from my neck and started down my shoulder, ghosting over my skin. I bit my lip hard, closing my eyes to keep from looking down at him. Knowing how close he was, knowing what he was, it seemed too much to take in. And even though this was new for him, and new for me, he was exceptionally good at what he was doing. Did becoming a demon automatically mean you were amazing at seducing a person?

“Ahem.”

I moved so quickly, at first I didn’t realize it was me who’d done it, but as soon as I heard someone clear their throat, I shoved Ciel as hard as I could, knocking him into the wall across from me. Sebastian stood with his gloved hand over his heart, a sly smile on his face as Ciel glared at him. I covered my face, embarrassed to be caught in such an intimate position with Ciel.

“What do you want?”

“As befitting as it is for you to feed in your situation, young master, I don’t suggest doing so on the woman you are trying to protect,” Sebastian answered, bowing to Ciel. “I do apologize for walking in on my lord having a moment, but-“

“Did you do as I asked?”

Sebastian looked mildly irritated as he moved away from the window, a delighted and overwhelmed Grell Sutcliff sitting on the windowsill behind him. “Oh Bassy, you brought me to the little twerp and his girlfriend? This is the date you promised,” Grell asked in a horribly whiny voice. I grimaced. “Unless we’re going to kill them together, I don’t understand-“

“Grell,” Ciel interrupted, regaining his stature while he moved past me. I sighed, dropping my hands. How utterly embarrassing was that? I sat down on the bed, folding my legs under me. “What do you know of Trancy and his butler?”

Grell pouted, eyes gleaming a bright green as he posed in the windowsill. “Do you honestly think I would answer any of your questions? No, I don’t think so! Bassy, you must take me elsewhere. This is such a bore to-“

“Grell!”

“Oh alright,” Grell grumbled, hopping down from the windowsill to sidle up to Sebastian. The butler pressed two fingertips to his temple and shook his head slightly at the obvious show of affection. Inwardly, I had to smile. Good, someone else was being tortured and there was nothing he could do about it. “I’ll wait a little bit longer. I’ve waited this long for a night of solitude with you, Bassy, I could wait a few moments more!”

“I simply can’t understand where you are getting this from,” Sebastian replied, but Ciel waved his hand plainly.

“Whatever you please, Grell, I promised you that much,” Ciel said, ignoring his butler while Grell shrieked in approval. Ciel began to pace slowly between the beds. Back to business as usual. “Now tell me, what do you know of Alois Trancy?”

Grell let go of Sebastian and sat down on the windowsill, a grin on his face. “That wonderfully bright young thing? So much more appealing to me than you ever were, I must say,” Grell said, flicking his long red hair over his shoulder. “Ruthless and daring, not much of a thinker that one. Am I on the right track?”

“You’re right on one thing, but yes, you are,” Ciel said, gesturing for Grell to continue.

“Yes I saw him the other day while gathering some old souls with dear William,” Grell continued, beginning to focus on his gloved hands. “He was visiting that awfully beautiful nutcase of a reaper, Undertaker.”

Ciel gasped, turning to face Grell. “Undertaker? You mean he’s still here? Sebastian, why did you not tell me?”

“You didn’t ask, my lord.”

I stared at the three quietly, my mind racing. So many different things going on, so many different people. I didn’t know how I’d be able to keep up, but looking at Ciel, something deep down told me I had to stick with him. Even though he had Sebastian, Ciel was still lost, unable to find his way. He was cold and calculating, yet I could see in his eyes, he wished nothing more than to have something more in his life. What that was, I didn’t know.

“Do you know what they were doing with Undertaker, Grell?”

“Haven’t the slightest,” Grell said, once again jumping from the windowsill and landing on Ciel’s bed. I raised my brow as Grell posed in front of Sebastian, thrusting his hand out for Sebastian to take. “This is the perfect spot for us to finally kiss, Sebastian, you must do it now, or I will forever perish.”

“I believe I’ll take the latter, if you don’t mind.”

Grell’s jaw dropped, but Ciel interceded before he could say anything. “Sebastian, we must go to Undertaker at once,” he demanded, then turned to me. “You’ll have to stay here, I will not subject you to his insanity.”

I huffed, sliding my legs over the edge of the bed. “Like I said, Ciel, you’re not going to order me around like Sebastian,” I told him, beginning to stand. Ciel groaned, his hand swooping over his forehead in frustration. “If I do decide to come with you, I’m doing so fully aware of the dangers.”

“If,” Ciel scoffed, reaching for his cane. “I don’t believe ‘if’ is in your vocabulary.”

“Just like compromise isn’t in yours,” I argued, but Ciel looked at me through long eyelashes.

“A compromise is what you want? You can’t be serious.”

I shook my head, grabbing his cane from him quickly. He went to grab it back, but I held it away from him, staring into his face. “You’re very obtuse for a grand earl, Ciel,” I jibed, causing Sebastian to give a small chuckle from behind Ciel’s back. Ciel growled in warning, but I went on. “If I decide to come with you, I will stay back and not say a word, just like you want, but you have to give me something in return.”

“What could you possibly want from me?”

“I want your story,” I told him, and for a second, he looked surprised at my condition. I read all about him on the internet, but there were pieces missing and I wanted those pieces. Ciel was complex, more complex than I could have imagined, and the truth was all I could really ask for.

“You know my story from your countless readings,” he said, gesturing to the papers next to my bed.

“Interesting,” Sebastian mused, immediately grabbing the papers from the nightstand.

Shaking my head, I leaned against the cane. “I want the full truth, Ciel, whatever happened to you, I want to know.”

Ciel turned his head away, grinding his jaw. I knew I hit a nerve, but I wanted to know what nerve I hit. “I can’t tell you,” he said in a pained voice.

“You can, you just don’t want to.”

“What’s the point anyways,” Ciel asked, snatching the cane from under me. I gasped, catching my balance with the bed. “What does my past have to do with anything?”

I stared at him like he was an idiot. “Seriously? Your past is the reason we’re here right now, Ciel!”

“She’s quite right, young master,” Sebastian said, finally putting the papers down.

“Stay out of this,” Ciel warned, sending Sebastian a glare. Sebastian gave a small bow, taking a step back. “You want to know my past, do you?”

I nodded, folding my arms over my chest. “I want to know everything.”

“It seems we have another reason to meet with Undertaker,” Ciel said to Sebastian, grabbing the beanie he’d tossed on the table. As he pulled the beanie over his hair, Ciel looked at me with blazing blue eyes. “If you truly want to know my past, then you’re welcome to accompany me to the Undertaker.”

“Good.”

“But I do warn you, Grell is nothing compared to this Reaper.”

“What do you mean?”

Ciel smirked as Sebastian helped put on his new black pea coat. “You’ll see.”

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alois? Claude? Sebastian, finally?! A story isn't complete without the infamous demon butler, amiright?
> 
> Also, yes, Undertaker is going to finally make his debut. If you read the manga, you KNOW how pretty he is. Ugh, have mercy.
> 
> Please leave comments and kudos if you like the story so far! It is always appreciated!


	5. Angels Fall.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The long awaited look into Ciel's past.

***

“ _This_ is where he lives?”

I stared wide eyed at the funeral home, hidden deep in the alleyways of old town London. The windows were cracked and dusty, hardly visible under the dirt and grime that had grown on it over the years. The letterings over the old door were mostly gone, leaving behind only a few letters. If you weren’t actually looking for the place specifically, you’d pass by it thinking it was abandoned for good.

“Have you changed your mind yet,” Ciel asked next to my ear, but I squared my shoulders.

“No I haven’t,” I said boldly, watching as Sebastian opened one of the doors.

“So be it,” Ciel whispered, stepping aside to walk through the door. Sebastian smiled at me as I passed, closing the door quietly after Grell. I covered my mouth with my sleeve while we walked through the dark room, lit only by a few candles sitting on a desk in the back of the building. Cobwebs and dust particles lingered in every nook and cranny, and I’m sure there was black mold everywhere.

“Ah, Ciel Phantomhive,” I heard a creaky sinister voice hiss from the darkness ahead of us. I gasped as one of the coffin doors opened and revealed a cloaked man. “I was wondering when you’d come.”

“Undertaker,” Ciel said formally, stopping just in front of the desk. I stopped behind him, debating whether I wanted to grab onto his coat or not. “So you know what has happened to me then? There’s no need to explain?”

An exuberant laugh came from the Reaper as he climbed out of the coffin, slamming his hands against the desk as his face finally came into view. I immediately grabbed onto Ciel’s coat, my heart pounding at the sight of the man. He was cloaked heavily in black robes, long gray hair flowing past his shoulders with a single braid covering part of his face. A scar ran across his pale face, and another wrapped around his neck. He was equally frightening and interesting.

“Oh, the entire underworld knows what happened to the great Earl Ciel Phantomhive,” Undertaker mused, sliding his hands over the top of the desk as he slowly turned onto his back on the desk. “You’d be have to crazy to not hear the rumors that the Queen’s Guard Dog is now half demon. Oooh, I know it to be true. I can smell the stench from where you stand.”

“Enough of this,” Ciel said, moving away from my grip. “I need information, and I know you have it.”

“Not without something in return,” Undertaker replied hauntingly, a smile on his gray lips. I bit my lip, looking towards Sebastian who looked purely unamused. “You know my price, Phantomhive. Times may have changed, but the deal stays the same.”

Ciel sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t have time for jokes, Undertaker.”

“Then I’m afraid I don’t have time for this,” Undertaker said, quickly moving from the desk towards the coffin he’d just climbed out of. “Without a genuine gut busting laugh, I cannot help you.”

“But-“

“Master, you can leave this to me,” Sebastian said, bowing to Ciel. He stepped forward, slipping off one of his gloves to reveal black fingernails as he leaned towards Undertaker. Whispers followed, and I shared a look with Ciel, his more irritable than anything. Suddenly, Undertaker flung himself against his desk, a boisterous laugh coming from his mouth. Sebastian pulled his glove back on, taking his position again behind me.

“You may be a demon, but your humor is dark and twisted, so delightful, Sebastian,” Undertaker applauded after he calmed himself. He sat on his desk, tilting his hat forward. “Now, what can I do you for, Phantomhive?”

Ciel bared his teeth then took a deep breath, lifting his eyes to Undertaker. “I need information on Alois Trancy,” Ciel told him, his knuckles nearly going white with how tightly he was holding his cane. I took a step towards him, resting my fingers over his. Ciel’s eyes turned to me for a moment, his fingers loosening around his cane. “I understand he came to you. What did he come here for?”

“Trancy, Trancy, Trancy,” Undertaker said, touching his finger to his chin. I couldn’t understand for the life of me what it was about people in their time, but the lot loved playing games with each other. Nowadays, the only game I’d want to play is Uno. “Never heard of the lad.”

“I know he was here, Undertaker,” Ciel said a little louder. “He came with his butler, Claude.”

Undertaker chuckled, a smile on his lips. “You mean the other demon? Oh yes, I remember him,” Undertaker admitted, shrugging his shoulders. “I daresay he could rival you, Sebastian. He’s such a dutiful butler, always following after his master. Not quite as funny however. It took him an awful long time to get anything out of me.”

“Yes, he seems to be lacking in people skills,” Sebastian cracked, sending Undertaker into yet another spiral of laughter. I moved my hand from Ciel’s, gripping instead onto the bottom of his coat. “We need to know what he asked you for.”

“You shouldn’t play with magic, Phantomhive, your soul is delicate, you know,” Undertaker said once he calmed down, his face turning to Ciel. “That boy, Trancy you say his name is, wants nothing more than to destroy your fragile soul. Why, I haven’t the faintest clue. But the curse put upon you is pure, undiluted magic. Even the demon you so greatly cherish could not imagine something so dark.”

Ciel set his jaw, glaring at the gray haired Reaper. “Is there no way to lift it then?”

“Oh, there is, there is,” Undertaker said, sliding off his desk to the back wall. He blew at the wall, and suddenly there was a bookcase filled with old books, none of which had any sort of names on them. “Aha! Here it is.” He grabbed a book from one of the shelves and set it onto the desk. “I believe this is what you’re looking for.”

Ciel went to grab it, but Undertaker held his hand up. “What are you-“

“Her,” was all he said, pointing his finger at me. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Undertaker lifted his face to me and smiled. “You want to know truths, you do. Well then, this is all you need.”

I looked up at Ciel, who was still glaring at Undertaker. Without a word, I stepped over to the desk, resting my hands on either side of the book. “What is it,” I asked meekly, unsure of my decision to know Ciel’s past.

“The truth.”

“What about the curse, Undertaker,” Ciel asked, quickly moving me away from Undertaker as I wound my arms around the old book. I let him, staring down at the tops of the yellowed pages. If what Undertaker said was right, I held all the answers to my questions about Ciel’s past in my arms.

Undertaker laughed, his attention back on Ciel. “It can only be lifted by the death of the one who cursed you,” he said simply, rolling onto his desk. “I’m afraid you’re stuck between demon and human until you can kill the little snipe. Isn’t that wonderful? A half breed in our midst. It’s a celebration indeed, wouldn’t you say, Sebastian?”

“Half breed or not, he remains my master until the very end.”

“The very end, you say,” Undertaker whispered, stretching his arms out across the desk. “The very end could be a very long time.”

“Then I will wait however long it takes.”

“Such patience for a demon.”

Ciel sighed, closing his eyes. “Is that all you can tell me about this curse? Does it bare a name?”

“No name to be had,” Undertaker told him, swirling his fingertips over the wood of his desk. “It’s a complex curse, I can tell you that.”

“Do you know of Trancy’s whereabouts?”

Undertaker chuckled, shaking his head, his hair falling over the edge of his desk. “I don’t bide my time paying attention to a child’s whereabouts.”

“This was a waste of time,” Ciel grumbled, turning away from Undertaker. I watched as Undertaker whirled around, his hat somehow always staying on his head, and suddenly he was in front of me, his face still hidden underneath the darkness of his hair. Gasping, I froze, holding onto the book tightly.

“You don’t know what you hold,” Undertaker whispered into my ear. “Hold on too tightly and you could find yourself in a web of deceit. Beware of the spider, my dear, for it will be your undoing.”

“Enough,” Ciel said, grabbing my elbow and pulling me away from Undertaker. I stared at the man as Ciel began pulling me towards the door. Undertaker smiled grimly at me until I could see him no longer, the door closing loudly after Grell. “A curse with no name, no clues of Trancy’s whereabouts, and I’m no closer to figuring this out than I was two days ago!”

“Master, you know of another way to get close,” Sebastian said, tilting his head slightly to the side, peering at Ciel through his red eyes. Ciel stopped, turning to Sebastian with a brow raised. “You send servants and Reapers after Alois Trancy, and yet you haven’t thought about seeking him out yourself.”

“Are you suggesting I flaunt myself as bait?”

“As always, I will be at your side no matter what,” Sebastian conceded, his eyes gleaming with mischief. I opened my mouth to argue with this, but as an afterthought, I looked down at the book held against my chest. If Ciel were to go about trying to find Trancy himself, it would give me an opportunity to look through the book. Sebastian caught my eye as I turned to look at Ciel. Something in his look made me want to cower back, but I swallowed it down. There was nothing Sebastian could do to me without receiving some sort of punishment.

Ciel closed his eyes and sighed. “I can’t think of another way to do this,” Ciel said quietly, pulling his beanie further onto his hair. “Ms. Carmichael, will you do as I say and stay in the hotel room until I return?”

“Yes,” I said in compliance, earning a surprised look from Ciel.

“You will?”

I shrugged, biting my lip. “I’m tired,” I lied, but even Ciel could see through it. He knew what I wanted to do, but wasn’t going to stop me. He’d promised his past, and from what Undertaker had said, this was the key to it.

“It’s settled then,” Ciel said after a second. “Grell, watch over her, make sure she gets back to the hotel and then come straight back here.”

“Oh, I hate following orders from this brat,” Grell grumbled, suddenly gripping my arm.

***

I closed the curtains as soon as Grell left and rushed to the door, immediately putting the ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door handle then locking it behind me. With a sigh, I turned and leaned against the wood, my eyes falling on the book sitting in the middle of the bed. I bit my lip, my heart beginning to race. What would I find hidden in its pages? Curiosity got the better of me as I climbed onto the bed, slowly picking up the book while I sat with my legs underneath me.

My hands shook around the heavy pages, the cover solid black with tiny traces of gold etched into the corners. The book itself was heavy though the pages were small and tattered. What a strange book, I thought, turning it over in my hands. The spine was the same black as the   
cover with one straight gold line running through the middle of its length, not one word visible anywhere on the front, back, or spine of the book.

“Oh to hell with it,” I muttered to myself, opening the cover slowly. I peered down at the script on the first page, written in old ink and cursive lettering.

**‘Ciel Phantomhive, Earl of the Phantomhive Estate. 1875.’**

“I see you’ve summoned the courage to peek into our dear Ciel’s past,” a familiar creaky voice said from the corner of the room. I gasped, looking up to see Undertaker leaning casually against the jam of the window, his long black fingernails tapping lightly against the brim of his hat. There was a playful smile on his lips, one with untold mysteries hidden behind it.

“How did you get in here?”

Undertaker laughed giddily, much like Grell but much more sinister. He glided past Ciel’s bed and stood in front of me, his face inches form my own. I held my breath, staring up at the man. Green eyes stood out from behind his gray hair, and at once, I could see that he wasn’t the old man I thought him to be. Instead he was a young beautiful man, the scar illuminating his beauty immaculately.

“A Reaper has no use for doors, you see,” he chuckled darkly, lifting a hand to run a long fingernail over my cheek. I bit my lip, unable to look away from the yellow-green of his eyes. “You may use the lock, but I will always get in, one way or another. That’s how we differ from mere humans such as yourself.”

“If that’s the case, then why are you here?”

“I do love a good story,” Undertaker explained, falling back onto Ciel’s bed and rolling over onto his stomach, his grey hair spilling out over the edge. “This particular story has many twists and turns, this way and that, manipulated by one single being. Oh it’s interesting indeed. No one has wanted to read this story in years.”

I wasn’t surprised. “You mean you haven’t had many customers? How surprising.”

Undertaker smiled at me, twirling the single braid between his fingers. “My dear, I have customers every day, the dead are my guests, you see,” he said, and I blanched, looking away from his smile. “It’s the ones who ask the right questions that are rare to me.”

“I guess I asked the right question?”

“You didn’t even have to ask, if you recall. I warned you of the dangers behind this story. Humans are so interesting in that way. They know the dangers, and still they push the boundaries until they get what they want.”

His words struck a nerve and I glared at him. “So despite knowing something could happen, you’re willing to let me open this?”

Undertaker’s grin spread further across his face as he flicked the braid over his shoulder. “It is not my decision whether you open that book or not,” he whispered, drawing circles on the duvet underneath him with his fingertips. “Your fate does not rest in my hands, nor do I wish it to. Like I said, I’m only here for the story.”

“I feel like you’re egging me on just to see what happens.”

“Humans, forever suspicious,” Undertaker laughed, rolling his head to the side as his green eyes illuminated under his gray bangs. “If I am, what difference would it make? The book lies in your hands, what more could I do?”

I glared at him again before looking down at the book in my lap. If I began reading, who knew what could happen? And if I didn’t, I’d be left with the regret and haunted by what could have been. My inner demons fought it out inside my stomach, my hands shaking as I debated. I could feel Undertaker’s eyes dancing with humor while I fought against myself in a losing battle.

Finally, I groaned, pulling the book open entirely, and suddenly, I was shoved back off of the bed, my head slamming against the wall. I screamed, looking up as the entire room was engulfed in a bright white-blue light, blinding me temporarily. A shriek of laughter rang through my scream, Undertaker dancing on the opposite bed while he clapped his hands. I rubbed the back of my head as I slowly regained my ability to move, eyes wide while I stared at the light.

A man had come through the light, a spitting image of Ciel in his later years, though this man’s eyes were a warm brown. Strands of black hair fell loosely in his face, a kind smile on his lips. Was this Ciel’s father, Vincent Phantomhive? I braced myself using the wall, standing slowly as the figure’s eyes followed my every move. “V-Vincent? Vincent Phantomhive,” I stuttered in question, watching as the man held out his hand wordlessly.

“Take his hand, will you? It’s not polite to keep a man waiting,” Undertaker said gleefully, but I stood back, clenching my hand in a fist.

I had no idea what would happen to me if I took his hand, this sort of magic way beyond my reach. But even as I looked at the man before me, I could only feel warmth. I braced myself and slowly reached my hand out, sliding my fingers into his palm. As soon as his hand closed around mine, there was a sudden pull, and in a blink of an eye, the hotel room disappeared along with Undertaker.

_Birds chirped loudly overhead as the sun shone brightly around me, my bare feet landing softly in perfectly cut green grass. The man’s grip on my hand had disappeared, but I could feel his presence around me. I looked to my right and found the Phantomhive Manor in pristine condition, towering over me with pride. It looked as beautiful as it had in the pictures I’d seen on the internet._

_My eyes traveled over the trees surrounding me, landing on a grand garden, so elegant even the queen herself would be jealous. White roses blossomed beautifully from the green bushes, vivid against the darkness of the leaves. The bushes lined a cobblestone path to a fountain sitting just a few yards from where I stood. I took those few steps and let the running water filter over my fingers, cool and refreshing like it should be._

_“Ciel! It’s time for lunch, sweetheart,” I heard a young woman call from behind me, and as I turned, I saw the flash of familiar blue eyes. It wasn’t Ciel I was looking at however. A woman in her early twenties was perched under an umbrella, hiding from the beaming sun. She adorned a soft blue dress, complimentary to her pale skin and natural strawberry blonde hair that hung past her shoulders. Her eyes were the same as Ciel’s, wide and ocean blue._

_“Oh come now, just a few more minutes, my love,” another voice called from my side. I looked up to see Vincent Phantomhive, a smile wide across his face, carrying a small child on his shoulder. The young boy on his shoulder was none other than Ciel, probably about the age of 6. He was so different from the Ciel I’d come to know._

_His familiar blue eyes were wide with excitement, his cheeks tinged a perfect pink as a smile lit up his tiny face. Pearly whites flashed as he bounced on his father’s shoulders, and a laugh to match his excitement escaped his lips. Vincent laughed along with him, spinning the two around carefully as he held onto the boy’s legs. A soft whoosh went by me and Ciel’s mother came into view with the two men. My heart stopped at the pure happiness written across all of their faces as Vincent embraced his young wife, kissing the top of her head gently._

_“They’re the perfect picture, are they not?”_

_I peered to my side and saw Undertaker lounging in the fountain angel’s arms, spinning the tip of his hat around lazily. “Ciel looks so happy here,” I said softly, looking back towards the family of three. “What happened to him?”_

_“Oh no, you can’t ask that question, not yet, you have a few pages still,” Undertaker laughed. I ignored him, taking a few steps towards the small family. Ciel giggled joyfully as his parents showered him with love and affection, my heart falling into the pit of my stomach. It was like Ciel had been split in two, and this was his alter-ego._

_I turned to face Undertaker again, but he was gone along with the fountain. A hiss sounded across the grounds and slowly, the picturesque scene began to fall apart, being replaced with what looked to be a ballroom. A hoard of finely dressed men and women passed by me and I stepped aside, maneuvering myself to stand by the violinists hidden behind a line of potted plants. The music was cheerful, a waltz one might dance to at a party like this one._

_Where did they go, I thought to myself, and as soon as I asked the question, I saw the familiar black hair move across the dance floor. I moved smartly through the people standing to the sides, watching as the black hair glided across the floor, mixed in with the strawberry blonde of Rachel Phantomhive. Ciel was nowhere to be seen, but I knew eventually he’d make an appearance. I slid past a woman doused in a red dress, the same shade as Grell’s own attire. It was enough to make me pause._

_I stared at the woman in awe, her sharp red hair blindingly vibrant against the soft hues of the rest of the party goers. She was beautiful in her own right, standing out in a dress that only she could pull off in her time. Her eyes were as red as her dress and hair, but it didn’t seem strange or off putting. It seemed appropriate, not at all like Sebastian’s eyes. I followed her gaze to the two parents on the dance floor._

_Rachel was smiling up at her husband with wide eyes, perfectly happy as they danced together. Thought their movements were the same as the other dancers, they were slower, in less of a hurry to run out of breath. How curious, I wondered, taking my stance next to the red haired woman. What was the tie between her and the couple on the floor?_

_“Auntie,” I heard the young Ciel call, and suddenly, the black hair ran past me and into the arms of the red haired woman. So this was the aunt that had been mentioned in my findings on the internet. Angelina Dalles had been murdered right after Jack the Ripper had disappeared, and her killer was never found. Interesting._

_“Dear Ciel, you know better than to run with your poor health,” Angelina playfully scolded, holding the boy on her hip as he smiled up at her. She flashed a dazzling smile at the squirming boy in her arms, though her eyes were traced with sadness and worry. Poor health? He looked perfectly healthy to an outsider. “Has your father taught you nothing?”_

_A laugh came from behind me and the Phantomhive family joined Ciel and his Aunt, Vincent brushing his hand through Ciel’s black hair. “You know our boy, Angelina, he’ll run at anything if it makes him happy,” Vincent said, grinning down at Ciel. Angelina, however, wasn’t looking at Ciel anymore. Her eyes had turned hopeful, staring at the black haired man in front of her. “He missed his Aunt when she went away, didn’t you, Ciel?”_

_“Yes, father, very much!”_

_“Angelina, why don’t you dance with Vincent this time,” Rachel spoke up, taking Ciel gently as he reached for his mother. Angelina gasped, looking at her sister with wide eyes. “I’ve grown weary from our dance and need a moment to catch my breath. Do you mind, Vincent?”_

_“Not at all. Angelina, may I have this dance?” Vincent bowed politely to Angelina, offering his hand to her. Angelina seemed frozen, but in a split second, realized her mistake and curtsied to the Earl. She accepted his hand, letting him lead her to the dance floor as Rachel and Ciel hung back._

_A hand at my back caused me to jump and I shrieked, turning to see Undertaker grinning wildly at me. “Will you stop doing that,” I cried, my heart racing as I pressed my hand to my chest. “You’re going to give me a heart attack!”_

_“That would be a sight to see, now wouldn’t it?” He bowed suddenly, his cloak flowing out from behind him as he did so. “I’m afraid I can’t hold back any longer, I must dance. Will you join me?”_

_I grimaced, but even as I began to say no, Undertaker grabbed my hand and pulled me onto the dance floor. “Wait, no,” I said loudly, but it was no use. My feet landed on top of his black shoes and my hand in his as his arm circled around my back. And we were off, waltzing along with the other patrons around the floor. “You are despicable.”_

_“It’s a wonder, the things you find looking into someone’s past,” Undertaker said, ignoring my last comment. I huffed in frustration, clinging to him for dear life as he spun us around the floor. “Ciel had a family full of love as a child, and yet, has grown into a man full of such hate and revenge. The transformation was almost in an instant, one might say. For a human, however, I’m sure it lasted a lifetime.”_

_“What are you going on about,” I asked, and instantly, Undertaker let me go, and I fell back. I screamed, waiting for my back to hit the floor, but it didn’t. My breath left my chest as I continued to fall, making it impossible to scream again. I reached out for anything and everything I could grab, but darkness had taken hold of the world I was in. Closing my eyes tightly, I waited for my back to collide with something, but it never did._

_“If you keep your eyes closed, you’ll miss the show,” Undertaker whispered in my ear. I whimpered but cracked an eye open anyway. We were floating now, looking down at the scene below us. The Phantomhive Manor was set ablaze, flames roaring unforgivingly through the countless rooms, tearing apart the world Ciel had grown to know._

_I watched as the child Ciel ran through the hallways, coughing and sputtering as he called out for his mother and father. My eyes clouded with tears while he ran, ash and soot covering every inch of him as he moved. His world was burning around him, taking everything he knew and destroying it right in front of his eyes._

_“Oh Ciel.”_

_“Mother, Father,” Ciel screamed, pushing through one of the doors. I gasped at the sight of Vincent and Rachel burning together, the flames washing over their scorching flesh while Ciel stood and watched. “No! Father! Mother! We must leave!”_

_“Got him,” I heard another voice yell loudly, and with a crack, Ciel was hit over the head with the butt of a gun, knocking him out cold._

_“Is there no way to stop them,” I asked Undertaker hurriedly, watching as the man tossed Ciel over his shoulder and began running through the burning mansion. Undertaker didn’t answer at first, his eyes trained on the man running with Ciel, then he looked at me, a smirk playing on his lips._

_“And what would you do, my dear,” Undertaker asked, sweeping his fingertips across my cheek. I bit my lip, looking down as the man disappeared into a carriage just off the grounds. Smoke billowed out of the ruins of the mansion, the flames eating everything in their path. “Do you wish to change Ciel’s past? What good would that do? I guarantee he’d still be the same man you know. A past can be changed, but the person remains the same.”_

_“How can that be? It makes no sense,” I urged, watching the mansion begin to crumble in on itself. “If we could stop the fire from ever starting, then Ciel would have his family back and none of this would be happening! He’d be happy again!”_

_Undertaker smiled, tapping a fingernail against his bottom lip. “Death is funny that way,” he said seriously, peering at me through his bangs. “No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, death will always be one step ahead of you. If you take away this part of Ciel’s past, death will find another way to bring his family down. It’s all a part of life and death, don’t you see?”_

_When he put it that way, he was right, but it didn’t take away the sadness and pity for Ciel in that moment. Losing his parents in a horrible fire, watching them burn, and then being kidnapped right after? I could only imagine the pain he would feel when he woke up in a strange place. “Would death still take his parents from him at such a young age though,” I asked, looking down as the flames ripped through the beautiful garden I’d seen earlier._

_“The only way to find out is to change his past,” Undertaker warned, but I shook my head. I wasn’t going to change anything. I was here to observe, no matter how terrible Ciel’s past was. This was the truth I asked for, and this was the truth I was getting. There was no changing it._

_“Can I go down there?”_

_In an instant, Undertaker and I began to descend on the Manor, far away enough to still feel the heat of the fire. Maids and butlers ran across the grounds, screaming and yelling for help, but none came. The mansion was too far into the country and already too far gone to receive any sort of help. All they could do was watch their home be destroyed and run. One butler remained, however, standing off in the distance._

_“Who’s that,” I questioned, pointing over to the man standing by the trees._

_Undertaker giggled, playing with the end of his hat again. “That is Tanaka,” he said in a matter of fact tone. “The Phantomhive head butler. Old as a bat, that one, but certainly worth his salt. I do believe Phantomhive kept him on a short leash, never leaving the mansion without him. Used to visit for information, they did.”_

_“You were an ally.”_

_“Still am, just like to give ol’ Ciel a good time,” Undertaker laughed, but I rolled my eyes. Men and their jokes, I really didn’t understand it. “Speaking of a good time, we’re about to see the best part.”_

_“What are you-oh my god!”_

_There was a loud bang and suddenly, I was thrown into a steel cage in a brightly lit room, my head hitting one of the bars with a clang. I groaned, grabbing the back of my head as I sat up dazed. Undertaker laughed triumphantly, gripping onto the steel bars as he stared out at the scene before us. I rubbed the sore spot on my head, slowly moving towards the too giddy Reaper. “This is where the real fun begins, my lady,” Undertaker whispered, his eyes shining._

_I looked out towards the middle of the room and gawked, my stomach turning at the sight. Ciel was strapped to a stone pedestal on his back, unconscious and twitching. “What’s going on,” I whispered frightfully, sliding my hands around the steel bars of the cage. “Why is he just lying there?”_

_A door slammed open and a wave of men in cloaks and masks began filtering into the room, each humming a dark tune. Undertaker bounced in place, almost unable to contain himself. I looked around the room and saw another cage like the one we were in, one filled with more children. What the hell was going on? Why were there children in cages and why the hell was Ciel on that pedestal?_

_“Brothers, it is time for a sacrifice,” a man whom I assumed to be the leader yelled as the men surrounded Ciel, keeping a hole for Undertaker and I to still see what was happening. The men went silent, the only sound in the room the whimpering and breathing of the children in the other cage. I watched in horror as a man wielding a hot brand began to approach a slowly wakening Ciel._

_“W-what are you doing,” Ciel stuttered in a panicked voice, beginning to fight his restraints. Several men surrounded Ciel, unchaining him to turn him over onto his stomach. “No! Get off of me! Get off! Mother! Father! No!”_

_“I can’t watch this,” I whispered, but even as I said it, I couldn’t take my eyes away from the screaming Ciel. The man approached Ciel, his face hidden behind the black mask, and without warning, he pressed the brand to Ciel’s side. A blood curdling scream echoed throughout the room, and I pressed my hands against my ears, willing it to stop. The screaming wasn’t enough to block out the wretched sizzling sound as the brand burned into Ciel’s skin._

_And then the screaming stopped. I pulled my hands from my ears and blinked as the men turned the crying and shaking Ciel over onto his back. “Now, my brothers, the time has come,” the leader said, pulling a dagger from his cloak. I gasped, standing up quickly. There had to be something I could do to stop this._

_My ears began ringing uncontrollably as the man chanted, raising the dagger high above his head. I slapped my hands over my mouth to keep from being sick as the man plunged the dagger into Ciel’s stomach, blood spraying across the man’s mask. My throat ran dry as Ciel’s eyes went wide, pain etched on his face while the man pulled the dagger from Ciel’s body, drenched in blood. I turned away, immediately falling to my knees to heave._

_“You’re going to miss the best part,” Undertaker hissed at me, but I shook my head, desperate to leave this behind. “Here he comes.”_

_Darkness shrouded the entire room and I lifted my head, wiping at my mouth. The familiar sound of Sebastian’s chuckle echoed through the room. “He’s here,” the leader said quickly, looking around the room as the darkness began to dissipate. “The demon is here!”_

_“They were summoning Sebastian,” I asked Undertaker quietly, looking over at the gray haired man. He smirked, pointing a fingernail at the men in front of us._

_“How childishly stupid they were,” he said with a laugh. “Thinking a demon would want to serve them. They don’t have enough hate in them to take on a demon like Sebastian, I assure you. Ciel was the perfect candidate.”_

_I watched in silence as Ciel bargained with the darkness surrounding him, his cold voice cutting through the men’s advances to shut him up. Sebastian’s chuckle lit the room like the fires of Ciel’s mansion and suddenly, a black hand reached forward to take Ciel’s. “Yes, my master,” Sebastian’s voice rang out, and in a blink of an eye, the darkness took the form of the Sebastian I knew. Now that I’d seen Vincent, I could see the striking resemblance of the two, aside from the blood red eyes._

_A scream filled the room yet again and fear ripped through me as Ciel covered his right eye. I knew what had happened. The sacrifice Sebastian needed for the contract had been taken, leaving a pentagram on Ciel’s eye. “Kill them,” Ciel ordered as the straps that held him down vanished._

_“I can’t watch this.” I pressed my face into Undertaker’s cloak. His arm wrapped around my shoulders and I was once again in darkness, hearing the screams and shouts as the men were slaughtered, blood spraying against my back. I held tightly to his cloaks as the screams continued, ripping through me like a blade._

_This was Ciel’s reasoning for being the way he was. He was born in blood after his parents were burned alive and kidnapped by greed driven men desperate to have power they knew nothing about. He’d stolen their opportunity with his hate and bloodlust, giving Sebastian the perfect soul to devour. In the end, it cost them their lives, and Ciel his happiness. The child who’d once been carefree and always smiling was now damned to a life without._

“I assume you found what you were looking for.”

I looked up from Undertaker’s cloak and found myself back in the hotel room, the book now lying on the floor and Ciel standing over us. Pushing away from Undertaker, I took a deep breath, holding myself against the wall. “I-I,” I stuttered, unsure of my state of mind. I shook my head, swallowing hard. “You didn’t tell me.”

Ciel took off his beanie, tossing it to the side. “I didn’t believe my past meant so much to you,” he said quietly, starting to pull off his pea coat. It wasn’t until he faced me head on that I realized he’d donned a black eye patch over his right eye. I suppose it was fitting due to the contract he had made with Sebastian was now back along with his demon butler. “Did you find anything of particular interest?”

“Oh she found much more than she bargained for,” Undertaker clapped, laughing loudly. “Just like a carnival ride, it was. I almost wished it hadn’t ended!”

“Sebastian,” Ciel said, and Sebastian appeared next to him, glaring at the reaper sitting on the bed. “Make sure Undertaker gets back to the funeral parlor. I want to be positive Trancy doesn’t come into contact with him again anytime soon.”

“Yes, my lord,” Sebastian said, bowing to Ciel before the two disappeared, leaving Ciel and me to stare at each other. I rubbed the back of my head gently, feeling for any lumps that I may have acquired from getting banged around so much. Going into the past was painful, equally emotionally and physically.

Ciel set his pea coat on the chair next to me and rested his walking stick on the bed, bending down to pick up the book. He ran his fingers over the cover, looking down at it without emotion. Finally, he turned to me and thrust it into my hands. “You may keep that if you wish,” he said solemnly. “I have no reason to keep it for myself.”

I bit my lip, eyeing the torturous book carefully. “I’ll return it once this is all over,” I whispered, walking to my suitcase to shove it under my clothes. I zipped up my bag and sat on the edge of my bed, watching Ciel quietly. He was more tense than usual as he slipped off his shoes and kicked them to the side. “I’m sorry, Ciel, what happened to you was-“

“I’d rather not discuss this,” he said stonily, and I looked down at my hands, taking a deep breath. “Let’s get to bed and talk about what I found tomorrow. Sebastian will be on the lookout tonight.”

Without another word, Ciel turned the lights off and I was once more encased in darkness.

***

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seriously can't get enough of the Undertaker. He's an overlooked character in the anime and it makes me sad.
> 
> Kudos and comments always appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> I absolutely loved how the Phantomhive Manor appeared in the books and the anime. Makes me sad to write it so decrepit and barely holding its own against the weather and assholes treating it like it isn't a piece of London's history.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Please come back for more and leave kudos or a comment if you liked it!


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